On Wednesday, Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth presented figures on tourist visits for 2021. For Kalmar County, a message of joy was delivered.
The number of guest nights in the county increased by just over 800,000 compared with the pandemic year 2020, and landed at over three million.
Most guest nights were in Borgholm municipality, followed by Västervik, Kalmar and Mörbylånga municipalities.
Vimmerby municipality accounted for the largest increase, probably due to the fact that Astrid Lindgren's World was closed during the summer of 2020.
Fifth place in the country
The figure places Kalmar County in fifth place in the country, only beaten by the three metropolitan regions of Stockholm, Skåne and Västra Götaland, and Dalarna.
- It is gratifying to see that we are still at the top of the country in the hospitality industry, because it is incredibly important for the development of our county.
We see that during the pandemic we have generally done very well in comparison with other parts of the country, but many who work in the hospitality industry have still had a tough time over the past two years, says Helena Nilsson, regional development director.