Huge princess portrait to adorn airport hotel

A new hotel at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport plans to cover its exterior with permanent portraits of members of the Swedish Royal family.

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The new 'mega' hotel, run by First Hotels, is set to open its doors in 2011.

Graphics for the hotel show the abstract profile of Crown Princess Victoria covering the entire side of the outer wall of the building.

A spokeswoman for the royal family would not comment on the plans when contacted by The Local on Friday.

Following models set by other international airport cities such as Amsterdam, Dallas and Barcelona, Arlanda Airport City aims to become an accommodation, business, retail and leisure hub year-round for travellers and tourists.

15 billion SEK ($20 million) is set to be invested at Arlanda over the next decade.

In addition to the 'royal' hotel, plans for the new Arlanda City include a congress centre, offices and business suites, a shopping districts, craft centre and a large open-air show house development called Villaexpo.

”Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is already the largest workplace in Sweden, and there is a need for further expansion of the airport,” said Mats Jämterud, CEO of Arlandastad Holding, which is developing the airport area.

More than 17.5 million passengers pass through Arlanda every year, with 2.6 million people living within one hour’s drive of the airport.

Transport links will be further strengthened with the planned development of a new junction off the E4 highway running directly through the city and designs for a new rail and bus platform.

With nearby Sigtuna council investing heavily in the project as well as heading the construction of an additional 2500 homes by 2012, hopes are high that Arlanda City will bring jobs and tourism into the area.

"Progress is always a good thing for tourism," Ann-Charlotte Jönsson from the Stockholm Visitors Board told The Local.

"Investment brings attraction and attraction brings investment, so the Arlanda City development is a beneficial thing for the area," she said.