Boom time for Swedish tourism
International visitors are crowding into Swedish towns and ski resorts like never before, official figures have shown.
The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Nutek) and Statistics Sweden (SCB) have released figures showing overnight stays in Sweden for the first quarter of 2008 up 21 percent on the same period last year.
Bo Söderström, Information Director of Visit Sweden, who market Sweden abroad, attributes this year's spectacular figures to three main factors.
"It is so much easier to fly to Sweden now, what with several flights from all over Europe. Swedish holiday and ski resorts have very high standards and are very child friendly. And Visit Sweden has led some very effective marketing campaigns that are attracting more and more visitors to Sweden´s cities and resorts," he told The Local.
This year's abundance of snow has not hurt either and ski resorts were packed with international visitors. In fact, Söderström believes that Sweden's snowy winters and warm balmy summers may be a contributory factor to tourist growth when the planet is heating up generally.
He told The Local that "climate tourism is sure to play a big part in the future. The summer months are getting warmer in Sweden and are much more pleasant than the excessive heatwaves in southern Europe."
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The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Nutek) and Statistics Sweden (SCB) have released figures showing overnight stays in Sweden for the first quarter of 2008 up 21 percent on the same period last year.
Bo Söderström, Information Director of Visit Sweden, who market Sweden abroad, attributes this year's spectacular figures to three main factors.
"It is so much easier to fly to Sweden now, what with several flights from all over Europe. Swedish holiday and ski resorts have very high standards and are very child friendly. And Visit Sweden has led some very effective marketing campaigns that are attracting more and more visitors to Sweden´s cities and resorts," he told The Local.
This year's abundance of snow has not hurt either and ski resorts were packed with international visitors. In fact, Söderström believes that Sweden's snowy winters and warm balmy summers may be a contributory factor to tourist growth when the planet is heating up generally.
He told The Local that "climate tourism is sure to play a big part in the future. The summer months are getting warmer in Sweden and are much more pleasant than the excessive heatwaves in southern Europe."
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