During the corona pandemic, it was difficult to go abroad on holiday, which meant that more Swedes went on a holiday in Sweden instead.
Now the restrictions are gone and trips abroad are once again possible, but despite this, the tourism industry is looking forward to an equally good holiday season this year.
- The biggest reason why we choose to stay in Sweden even though you can now travel abroad is that you discovered new donut places and saw how beautiful and sustainable Sweden is, says Jonas Partheen, press manager at Visita.
Bigger increase in big cities
The hospitality industry's industry organization Visita produces forecasts for Swedish tourism, which is measured in guest nights at, for example, hotels and campsites.
In June this year, hotel nights increased by 162 percent in the big cities, compared to the same month last year.
Outside the big cities, the increase was smaller, 72 percent.
According to Jonas Partheen, this is because interest in experiencing nature increased during the pandemic.
But now that the restrictions are gone, the big cities' supply is starting to come back, and so are the tourists.
- It has been two years without, for example, concerts, and now that the business has started again, it has become a boom, says Jonas Partheen.
Fewer foreign tourists
Visita's forecast for the entire summer's guest nights is estimated to be 17 percent better compared to the pandemic summer of 2021.
Compared to the normal summer of 2019, however, it is five percent lower.
This is mainly due to the fact that the foreign tourists have not yet returned to Sweden to the same extent.
This year, it is expected that one in five foreign tourists will not show up.
At the Clarion Hotel Sign in Stockholm, on the other hand, they manage well despite fewer foreign tourists.
- Sales in June have never been as good as this year.
It is an all time high.
In addition, the second quarter, despite a slow start in April, was very strong, says hotel director David Viklund.