Facts & statistics

Tourism in Sweden

Facts & statistics

2014

Effects of tourism on the economy, exports and employment, and tourism volumes, behaviours and supply and demand

2

© Tillväxtverket Stockholm, November 2015Principal author: Peter TerpstraProduction: Ordförrådet ABInfo 0635ISBN 978-91-87903-36-6

Contents

Preface 3

Key figures, 2014 4

Summary of tourism in 2014 7

Challenges and development 10

Effects of tourism on the economy 14

Export value of tourism 24

Effects of tourism on employment 28

International tourism 32

Tourism in Sweden 35

Domestic tourism 47

Inbound tourism 51

International meetings 84

Definitions and sources 86

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

3

Preface

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, is the authority responsible for tourism industry issues, and de-velops enterprise policies for the promotion of tourism initia-tives and entrepreneurship. The Agency is also responsible for producing and disseminating information about the develop-ment of tourism in Sweden and has specific responsibility for the accommodation statistics that are included in Sweden's official statistics.

Global travel continued to grow in 2014. In Sweden, total tour-ism consumption increased by 5.2 per cent or SEK 13.2 billion in 2014. The export value of tourism, i.e. consumption by for-eign visitors in Sweden, increased by all of 12.5 per cent or SEK 10.7 billion, thus contributing to economic growth in Sweden.

According to international estimates, global travel and tour-ism will increase by approximately 3 per cent per annum up to 2030. Sweden is well placed to benefit from this increase as our basic resources in the form of attractive destinations and facilities, as well as nature and culture in value-added form, are in line with what both leisure and business travellers are anticipated to demand.

Many parties rely on decision guidance data for their actions.Government agencies, tourism organisations and consultants among others, often use the sources used in this publication for analyses of specific issues.

Tourism is a very complex phenomenon and there are seldom any simple methods for describing it. In this publication, trav-el and tourism are examined from a large number of different perspectives.

Our objective is for the data collected in Tourism in Sweden to contribute to enhancing knowledge about and continuing the development of travel and tourism as an important, growing market and export sector for the Swedish economy.

Stockholm, November 2015

Gunilla Nordlöf Peter TerpstraDirector General Tourism Analyst

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

4

Key figures, 2014

"Tourism in Sweden 2014" shows how travel and tourism have developed in terms of volume from a number of aspects and their importance to the development of the economy, exports and employment in Sweden. The data was taken from a num-ber of sources. These are listed at the end of the publication in the "Definitions and sources" chapter.

Below are a number of key figures that summarise the results reported in the publication. More detailed data on the results for 2014 and the development in recent years is reported in each of the chapters.

Effects of tourism on the economy, exports and employment(percentage change from 2013 and 2000, in current prices)

Key figures from pages 14 to 31

• SEK 268.6 billion in total consumption, up 5.2 per cent (up 78.9 per cent from 2000)

• SEK 96.5 billion in export value (consumption by foreign visitors in Sweden), up 12.5 per cent (up 137.5 per cent from 2000)

• 159,200 people employed (average), up 4.9 per cent (up 21.7 per cent from 2000)

• SEK 12.4 billion in VAT revenue from foreign consumption in Sweden, up 15.9 per cent (up 125.7 per cent from 2000)

• SEK 172.0 billion, total Swedish/domestic tourism consumption in Sweden, up 1.4 per cent (up 57.2 per cent from 2000)

• SEK 125.0 billion, tourism consumption by Swedish households/leisure travellers in Sweden, up 1.1 per cent (up 74.7 per cent from 2000)

KEY FIGURES

5

• SEK 47.0 billion, tourism consumption by businesses and government agencies (Swedish business travellers) in Sweden, up 2.5 per cent (up 24.1 per cent from 2000)

• SEK 92.6 billion in added value, up 5.1 per cent (up 78.6 per cent from 2000)

• 6.9 per cent of Swedish households' total consumption is tourism consumption in Sweden

• 2.8 per cent tourism's relation to/proportion of Sweden's total GDP

Tourism in Sweden and domestic tourism(percentage change from 2013 and 2009)


• SEK 56.4 million, total number of nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, camping sites and commer-cially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments (PCAs), up 5.0 per cent. (up 10.6 per cent from 2009)

of which: • 42.7 million, number of Swedish/domestic nights spent,

up 4.4 per cent (up 10.3 per cent from 2009)• SEK 21.5 billion in accommodation revenues from hotels,

holiday villages, youth hostels and PCAs,1 up 4.4 per cent (up 24.3 per cent from 2009)

• 328,000 beds at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels, up 1.9 per cent (up 7.3 per cent from 2009)

• 1.3 million nights spent in Swedish guest harbours, up 16.9 per cent

1 Commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments

KEY FIGURES

6

Inbound tourism(percentage change from 2013 and 2009)


• 13.7 million, total number of nights spent by foreigners at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, camping sites and PCAs,1 up 6.7 per cent. (up 11.5 per cent from 2009)

of which:• 4.9 million nights spent from the Nordic region outside

Sweden, down 0.1 per cent (down 2.6 per cent from 2009)• 6.3 million nights spent from Europe outside the Nordic

region, up 7.2 per cent (up 6.9 per cent from 2009)• 2.5 million nights spent from countries outside Europe,

up 21.0 per cent (up 81.7 per cent from 2009)• 37,060 holiday homes with foreign owners in Sweden,

up 0.8 per cent (up 11.7 per cent from 2009)• 19.9 million foreign same-day and overnight visitors to

Sweden, up 6.0 per centof which:• 10.8 million foreign overnight visitors to Sweden,

down 3.5 per cent• 9.2 million foreign same-day visitors to Sweden,

up 20.5 per cent

1 Commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments

KEY FIGURES

7

Summary of tourism in 2014

Tourism continued to grow in relation to Sweden’s total economy, exports and employment Tourism continued to grow stronger in 2014. The importance of tourism continued to grow in relation to many other sec-tors in particular, and in relation to Sweden’s total economy, exports and employment.

For example, the export value of tourism (consumption by foreign visitors in Sweden) grew in 2014 by all of 12.5 per cent or SEK 10.7 billion, while Sweden’s total exports of goods and services increased by 5.1 per cent. The export value of tourism as a proportion of Sweden's total exports also increased to 5.5 per cent in 2014. This proportion has grown from 3.9 per cent since 2000.

The effects of tourism on employment in relation to total em-ployment growth in Sweden were also strengthened in 2014. Measured as the average number of people employed, total employment in Sweden increased by 0.9 per cent, while the number of the employed as a result of tourism increased by 5.2 per cent.

Volumes from abroad increasing the fastestTourism in Sweden has been growing for many years. Since 1995, the number of nights spent at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels has increased by nearly 60 per cent. The number of nights spent by foreigners has increased by just over 88 per cent during this period, and the domestic volumes by just over 50 per cent. This trend grew stronger in 2014, and nights spent by foreigners increased by all of 6.7 per cent. Such strong growth has not been recorded since the end of the 1990s.

SUMMARY OF TOURISM IN 2014

8

In the past 5 years, growth has been primarily due to non-Eu-ropean markets, which have increased by 13 per cent per an-num on average. In 2014, non-European markets increased by all of 21 per cent, of which nights spent by visitors from the USA increased by 10.5 per cent, China by 6.5 per cent and India by 22.4 per cent.

Increased concentration on the metropolitan regionsThe number of nights spent increased in virtually all regions of Sweden in 2014. Nights spent increased by 5 per cent in to-tal. Such a strong increase has not been recorded for nearly 10 years. In percentage terms, the increase was greatest in Stock-holm County (7.6 per cent), followed by Skåne (7.3 per cent). In absolute figures, the increase was also greatest in Stock-holm County (835,400 more nights spent), followed by Västra Götaland (500,000 more nights spent) in 2014.

Since 2008, nights spent in the three metropolitan regions combined have increased by nearly 21 per cent. During the same period, the volumes in the rest of Sweden increased by 6.4 per cent. In Stockholm County, volumes have increased by just over 26 per cent, in Västra Götaland by nearly 17 per cent and in Skåne by nearly 21 per cent since 2008.

Leisure travel growing faster than business travelAnother long-term trend that was strengthened in 2014 is that the number of rooms sold at hotels to leisure travellers increased considerably more than those sold to business trav-ellers. In 2014, the number of rooms sold to individual lei-sure travellers increased by just over 13 per cent and to busi-ness travellers by 1.6 per cent. Since 2008, the number of rooms sold to individual leisure travellers has increased by more than 50 per cent, while sales to business travellers have only increased by just under 6 per cent.

The long-term trend of an increased proportion of leisure travel is also clear in the data that reports consumption by Swedish leisure and business travellers in Sweden. Since 2000, tourism consumption by Swedish leisure travellers in Sweden has increased by just over SEK 53 billion or by nearly 75 per cent. During the same period, consumption by business trav-ellers in Sweden increased by SEK 9.1 billion or by just over 24 per cent.


9

Market development Overall, the growth in 2014 has strengthened the long-term trend. More foreign visitors, in particular from non-European markets, an increased concentration on the metropolitan re-gions and stronger growth in leisure travel than business trav-el are the dominant features of the market trend, and are thus also indicative of the areas in which there is potential for growth.


10

Challenges and development

Why tourism?Besides contributing to mutual understanding and building bridges between people from different places and cultures, travel and tourism constitute a tool for generating trade and building prosperity. Sustainable development also allows for the creation of a wider range of nature and cultural activities, restaurants and destinations and thus more attractive residen-tial environments. Travel and tourism generate income for many businesses and create jobs. They generate tax revenues and are essential to the creation and expansion of more attrac-tive infrastructure.

Coordination of public initiativesAs the owner and manager of many attraction resources such as national parks, ancient monuments and infrastructure, the community has a decisive impact on the potential for tourism to develop. The conditions for tourism are also affected by a large number of other decisions, legislation and regulatory frameworks that are made in many different policy areas. The community also allocates significant resources within a num-ber of different sectors and at different levels for the direct or indirect promotion of travel and tourism. These resources need to be coordinated in order to be effective.

The objective of the Swedish Government's tourism policy is for Sweden to be very attractive to tourists and to have a tour-ism industry that is competitive in the long term and contrib-utes to sustainable growth and increased employment in all parts of the country. Achieving these objectives is predicated on a common strategy, effective coordination across sector boundaries, and effective coordination of the initiatives im-plemented by government agencies that are not primarily

CHALLENGES AND DEVELOPMENT

11

concerned with travel and tourism, but whose activities are important to the development of tourism or vice versa.

Competitiveness and attractivenessWhen it comes to tourism, the prevailing image of competi-tiveness as something that is primarily generated in business-es must be supplemented by another decisive factor. This fac-tor is essentially the attractiveness of the place or activity which, in conjunction with businesses, constitutes the most crucial success factor.

The attractiveness of a place as a whole is created by the com-bination of all its features, i.e. natural and cultural environ-ments, events, its capacity to host, the physical environment, infrastructure, etc. Well-developed partnerships between many different actors are therefore required to create compet-itiveness. This applies not only to businesses in different in-dustries, but also very much so to public actors, which have a considerably more important and decisive role for travel and tourism than for many other sectors of the economy.

Plan for tourismTourism needs good conditions if it is to develop. Tourism in Sweden is still relatively under-developed, and in many con-texts, its potential for development has not yet been taken into consideration. For example, the needs of businesses engaged in the production of goods and needs for public transport are still prioritised when planning and designing infrastructure. There is often a lack of knowledge about tourism and the transport needs and requirements of passengers from far away. Consequently, more attention should be paid to these issues. Another example is the obvious link between the de-sign of the physical environment and the conditions needed for tourism to develop. An aesthetic design of the physical environment affects not only how visitors perceive a place. It also creates more attractive residential environments.

In many places, functionality and technical requirements have been prioritised at the expense of aesthetic design. The public sector responsible for issues such as land use, rest areas, parks and gardens, lighting, car parks, signage, technical installa-tions and, in particular, cleaning also have an important re-


12

sponsibility here. The administrations responsible for these issues often have good intentions, but they often lack insight into and knowledge of their decisive importance in relation to the conditions for tourism to develop. It may also be the case that they deal with tourism development issues separately from other planning, investment and development issues.

Consequently, success depends on greater collaboration be-tween the industry, representatives of tourism, social planners and other administrations. Shared environmental objectives, care for the physical environment, high-quality activities and events and the conservation and accessibility of natural and cultural environments are of decisive importance to the at-tractiveness of a place.

Knowledge and statistics are fundamental to successAs the importance of tourism is becoming clearer, public and private actors are also becoming more interested in being in-volved in the area. The objective of tourism policy, in combi-nation with both public and private initiatives, places specific demands on how the importance and development of tourism should be measured, since the effects are rarely or never visible in the existing production statistics. Neither public nor private initiatives can contribute to success unless they are based on knowledge. Knowledge is required, in the form of statistics and studies, to assess whether the initiatives produce any ef-fects, and also to be able to effectively develop markets, prod-ucts and destinations.

The industry consists of a few very large corporations and a large number of small entrepreneurs. The latter have very limit-ed resources for producing themselves the market knowledge required to be able to operate their businesses successfully. Consequently, one of the most important initiatives for pro-moting tourism enterprises and entrepreneurship involves pro-viding these businesses with relevant decision guidance data and market facts in the form of tourism statistics and studies.

More knowledge about what creates attractiveness is essentialIf Sweden is to be very attractive as a tourist destination and is to have a tourism industry that is competitive in the long


13

term, more is required than that tourism simply grows in rela-tion to the rest of the economy, exports and employment in Sweden. Strengthened international competitiveness is need-ed to create long-term sustainable growth. Sweden is well placed to benefit from the expected increase in travel and tourism globally. However, more knowledge about what cre-ates attractiveness is required to achieve this. This knowledge must be increased primarily among the public actors, not among the entrepreneurs working in the sector. This is be-cause public actors have a much greater, more decisive impact on the potential of the sector to develop than on many other sectors of the Swedish economy.

A global challengeThe biggest challenge facing global travel and tourism in the future is how to achieve development that is environmentally sustainable. International travel and tourism are cross-border by nature. As a result, greener travel solutions must be sought within the framework of international partnerships and regu-latory frameworks. It is not the number of travellers or the travel itself that needs to be restricted. What is needed is a reduction in the climate impact of primarily transport.

It is not possible to rely solely on changes in passengers’ demand to guide development in the right direction. The var-ious actors in the sector also bear a very great responsibility for adapting what is being offered. Airlines, shipping compa-nies, bus companies and car hire companies can drive devel-opment in technology forward by placing strict requirements on their suppliers and thereby also safeguard their own inter-ests. It is also essential that the public sector helps to stimulate interaction between research, investment capital and enter-prises in order to assist the cost-intensive technological devel-opment work required.


14

Effects of tourism on the economy

The information in this chapter and the subsequent chapters Export value of tourism and Effects of tourism on employ-ment is taken from the Tourism Satellite Accounts for Swed-ish tourism. For facts about the calculations, see page 88. The 2014 Tourism Satellite Accounts are based on a previously published but now fully revised time series of data for the pe-riod 2008 to 2013. The revision has resulted in an average re-duction in the values reported previously of approximately 6 per cent per annum during the period. For further informa-tion about the revision, see page 88.

Tourism consumption in Sweden continues to rise Total tourism consumption in Sweden increased by SEK 13.2 billion or 5.2 per cent in 2014. Since 2000, total tourism con-sumption in Sweden has increased by a total of SEK 118.5 bil-lion or 78.9 per cent in current prices, equivalent to an aver-age annual increase of 4.3 per cent over the past fifteen years.

The export value of tourism, i.e. the value of foreign visitors' consumption in Sweden, increased by SEK 10.7 billion or 12.5 per cent and amounted to SEK 96.5 billion in 2014. Since 2000, the export value of tourism has increased by SEK 55.9 billion or 137.5 per cent in current prices, equivalent to an av-erage annual increase of approximately 6.5 per cent. Since 2000, the export value's proportion of total tourism consump-tion has increased from 27 to 36 per cent. Added value and the number of people employed in tourism have also in-creased since 2000. Since 2000, tourism's relation to/propor-tion of total GDP in Sweden has fluctuated between 2.6 and 2.8 per cent, which shows that tourism’s share of GDP has re-mained at a fairly constant level in relation to the economy as

EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON THE ECONOMY

15

whole. However, changes in the rest of the economy have a greater impact on tourism's proportion of GDP than upturns or downturns in tourism itself.

Annual accounts for Swedish tourism. Key figures, 2000–2014 (current prices, SEK million)

Tota

l tou

rism

co

nsu

mp

tion

in

Swed

en

Tour

ism

con

sum

pti

on

by

Swed

es in

Sw

eden

Con

sum

pti

on b

y fo

reig

n v

isit

ors

in

Swed

en (e

xpor

t)

Ad

ded

val

ue

Peop

le e

mp

loye

d in

to

uris

m (a

vera

ge)

Prop

orti

on o

f/re

lati

on

to to

tal G

DP,

per

cen

t

2000 150,102 109,470 40,632 51,881 130,800 2.7

2001 165,434 118,089 47,344 55,407 138,700 2.8

2002 171,101 121,661 49,441 58,572 136,800 2.8

2003 169,779 124,912 44,867 59,952 132,500 2.8

2004 175,526 126,684 48,841 60,733 130,100 2.7

2005 192,052 135,583 56,469 63,220 130,900 2.7

2006 213,735 145,632 68,104 69,983 140,100 2.8

2007 222,550 146,736 75,814 72,528 143,800 2.7

2008 236,063 161,422 74,640 77,810 148,200 2.7

2009 237,613 165,576 72,038 79,066 149,900 2.8

2010 232,780 158,710 74,070 77,811 142,000 2.6

2011 246,311 168,291 78,020 83,654 145,700 2.7

2012 256,015 173,404 82,612 88,552 155,300 2.8

2013 255,399 169,610 85,789 88,135 151,800 2.7

2014 268,562 172,049 96,513 92,638 159,200 2.8

13/14% 5.2 1.4 12.5 5.1 4.9

00/14% 78.9 57.2 137.5 78.6 21.7

Preliminary data Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden

Tourism generates large revenuesIn 2014, foreign visitors spent SEK 96.5 billion and Swedish leisure and business travellers spent SEK 172 billion in Swe-den. This money was distributed between the various sectors as shown in the figure below. Travellers spent the most money on accommodation and restaurants. These revenues account-ed for SEK 86.7 billion or 32.3 per cent of the total. Almost as much was spent on travel and transport, for example train tickets, air tickets, car hire and fuel. This part of the consump-tion accounted for SEK 84.7 billion or 31.5 per cent of the to-tal tourism consumption. Trade in goods, involving shopping and food purchases, accounted for SEK 73.7 billion or 27.4 per cent of the total. Consumption of culture and other ser-


16

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden

Distribution of tourism consumption in Sweden 2014 (SEK billions) with percentage change from 2013

■ Accommodation, 52.2 (+3.7)■ Restaurants, 34.5 (+13.2)

■ Culture/recreation, 15.0 (+6.6)■ Other services, 8.5 (+5.1)

■ Fuel, 27.0 (+2.1)■ Air travel, 21.9 (-3.9)■ Travel agencies, 14.4 (-3.2)■ Other overland travel, 11.3 (+7.9)■ Car hire, 4.8 (+9.2)■ Rail travel, 3.2 (-0.5)■ Sea travel, 2.2 (-20.9)

■ Other goods/ purchases, 47.3 (+8.3)■ Food, 26.4 (+10.4)

Accommodation &restaurants 86.7 (+7.3)

Transport84.7 (-0.2)

Goods (retail)73.7 (+9.1)

Culture & services23.5 (+6.0)

Foreignvisitors

96.5 (+12.5)

Swedish leisuretravellers

125.0 (+1.1)

TOURISM IN SWEDEN 268.6 (+5.2)

Swedish businesstravellers

47.0 (+2.5)

vices was a smaller sector, amounting to sales of SEK 23.5 bil-lion. However, it is one of the sectors that have grown fastest since 2000. Culture and nature activities in value-added form are also activities that contribute to the attractiveness that is driving travel and thus other sectors forward. Swedish travel-lers accounted for 64 per cent of total consumption, with lei-sure travellers spending the most. The export value, consump-tion by foreign visitors, amounted to 36 per cent of total consumption.

Big increase in tourism consumption since 2000The total tourism consumption in Sweden have increased by nearly 79 per cent in current prices since 2000. Expressed in constant prices (taking inflation into account) the increase has been nearly 50 per cent.


17

Tourism consumption in Sweden (current prices, SEK billions)


0

50

100

150

200

250

300

141312111009080706050403020100

Total tourism consumptionSwedish/domestic consumptionExport value (foreign consumptionin Sweden)

Foreign consumption in Sweden has increased more than twice as much as domestic consumptionWhile total Swedish tourism consumption have increased by nearly 79 per cent since 2000, domestic tourism consumption in Sweden has increased by just over 57 per cent in current prices. During the same period, the export value of tourism, consumption by foreign visitors in Sweden, has increased by just over 137 per cent, i.e. more than twice as much as domes-tic consumption.

Development of total turnover for tourism in Sweden (SEK billions)


150

175

200

225

250

275

300

141312111009080706050403020100

Current prices2000 prices

Consumption by leisure travellers has increased more than consumption by business travellersIn 2014, consumption by domestic leisure travellers in Sweden increased by 1.1 per cent and consumption by domestic busi-ness travellers by 2.5 per cent. However, since 2000, consump-tion by leisure travellers has increased considerably more than


18

Swedish/domestic tourism consumption in Sweden(current prices, SEK billions)


Swedish leisure travellersSwedish business travellers(trade, industry & authorities)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

141312111009080706050403020100

consumption by business travellers. Since 2000, consumption by leisure travellers has increased by approximately 75 per cent compared with the increase for business travellers of approxi-mately 24 per cent. Swedish leisure travellers accounted for nearly three-quarters of total tourism consumption by Swedes in Sweden during 2014. Since 2000, the proportion has in-creased from 65 per cent to 73 per cent. The proportion for business travellers in the same period has therefore decreased from nearly 35 per cent to approximately 27 per cent.

Index for household tourism consumption in Sweden in relation to total house-hold consumption of goods and services (current prices). Index 2000 = 100


Tourism consumptionTotal consumption

100

120

140

160

180

200

141312111009080706050403020100

Tourism consumption by households in Sweden has increased more than total consumption by householdsPrivate tourism consumption by Swedes in Sweden has in-creased by 75 per cent since 2000. During the same period, total consumption of goods and services by households has increased by approximately 63 per cent in current prices.


19

Accommodation and restaurants are the biggest expense item for travellersOf the SEK 268.6 billion spent in Sweden by Swedish and for-eign leisure and business travellers in 2014, just over 32 per cent was spent on accommodation and restaurants. For for-eign visitors and Swedish leisure travellers, this item includes some expenditure for nights spent in their own holiday homes. The next largest item is trade in goods, involving shopping and food. Trade in goods accounted for just over 27 per cent of total expenditure in 2014. Travel and transport, with expenditure for train tickets, air tickets and car hire, for example, but excluding expenditure for fuel, accounted for 21 per cent of total expenditure and is the item of which the pro-portion has decreased most since 2000. Fuel, primarily for private cars, accounted for approximately 10 per cent of ex-penditure and is also an item of which the proportion has de-creased since 2000. Expenditure for culture and recreation is the smallest item excluding other services, but also the ex-penditure item that has increased most since 2000.

Total SEK 268.6 billion


Total tourism consumption in Sweden by type of expenditure 2014, with percentage change from 2013

Accommodation & restaurants, 32 % (+7.3 %)Travel & transport, 21 % (-1.3 %)Goods, 27 % (+9.1 %)Fuel, 10 % (+2.1 %)Culture & recreation, 6 % (+6.6 %)Other services, 3 % (+5.1 %)


Foreign visitors' consumption in Sweden by type of expenditure 2014, with percentage change from 2013

Accommodation & restaurants, 23 % (+17.5 %)Travel & transport, 15 % (-3.4 %)Goods, 46 % (+14.7 %)Fuel, 8 % (+16.7 %)Culture & recreation, 6 % (+16.0 %)Other services, 1 % (+28.8 %)

Total 96.5 SEK billions

Foreign visitors spend most on trade in goodsForeign visitors, who spent a total of SEK 96.5 billion in Swe-den in 2014, were engaged in shopping and trade in goods to


20

a greater extent than Swedish travellers. Trade in goods and shopping were the biggest expenditure item for foreign visi-tors, accounting for 46 per cent.

Swedish business travellers spend the most on travel and transportThe biggest expenditure item for Swedish business travellers was accommodation and restaurants, accounting for 34 per cent of total consumption, which amounted to SEK 125 billion in 2014. Swedish leisure travellers spent a slightly higher pro-portion on culture and recreation than foreign visitors. Swed-ish business travellers also spent a large proportion of their to-tal consumption (total SEK 47 billion) on accommodation and restaurants, but expenditure for travel and transport, including fuel, accounted for nearly half of total consumption in 2014.


Total tourism consumption in Sweden by Swedish leisure and business travellers by type of expenditure 2014, with percentage change from 2013

Accommodation & restaurants, 37 % (+4.1 %)Travel & transport, 25 % (-0.5 %)Goods, 17 % (+1.3 %)Fuel, 11 % (-3.0 %)Culture & recreation, 5 % (+0.9 %)Other services, 4 % (+3.6 %)

Total SEK 172 billion


Swedish leisure travellers' consumption in Sweden by typeof expenditure 2014, with percentage change from 2013

Accommodation & restaurants, 34 % (+4.6 %)Travel & transport, 22 % (-2.2 %)Goods, 23 % (+1.3 %)Fuel, 10 % (-4.7 %)Culture & recreation, 7 % (+0.9 %)Other services, 4 % (+3.9 %)

Total 125 SEK billions


Swedish business travellers' consumption in Sweden by type of expenditure 2014, with percentage change from 2013

Accommodation & restaurants, 46 % (+3.2 %)Travel & transport, 34 % (+2.5 %)Fuel, 15 % (+0.0 %)Other services, 5 % (+3.0 %)

Total 47 SEK billions


21

Tourism is most important for travel agencies and tour operatorsMany sectors are affected in some way by travel and tourism. They are most important for travel agencies and tour opera-tors, for which tourism accounts for 100 per cent of added val-ue1, followed by aviation, for which 85 per cent of added value came from tourism consumption in 2014. The reason why tourism was not higher than 47 per cent for hotels and restau-rants is that the local population accounts for a large propor-tion of the consumption at restaurants, and that population, by definition, does not come under tourism. The proportion of total added value for tourism in trade in goods was 6 per cent.

Added value of tourismThe total added value1 of tourism amounted to SEK 92.6 bil-lion in 2014. Hotels and restaurants had the highest added value (SEK 26.9 billion), followed by trade in goods (SEK 21.3 billion). Since 2000, the total added value for Swedish tourism has increased from SEK 51.9 billion to SEK 92.6 billion or nearly 79 per cent in current prices. During the same period,


Total value added and tourism’s sharefor different sectors in 2014 (SEK billions)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Sea travel

Rail travel

Other passenger transport

Rental

Taxis

Travel agencies

Air travel

Culture, sport, recreation

Holiday homes

Goods

Hotels & restaurants

Tourism’s share of value added9 %

18 %

9 %

10 %

32 %

100 %

85 %

18 %

10 %6 %

47 %

1 Added value is equal to the value of what an enterprise or sector adds via its activities, expressed as the value of the total production of an enterprise or sector, less the value of the inputs used.


22


Share of GDP for some comparable industries in 2014 (percent)

0

1

2

3

4

Mineral miningFoodAgriculture,forestry

TourismElectricity, gas,heating & water

1.2

0.6

1.4

2.8

3.2

the added value for all economic activity in Sweden has in-creased by 72 per cent. Between 2013 and 2014, the added value of tourism increased by 5.1 per cent, while the added value for all economic activity increased by 3.5 per cent.


Tourism value added in Sweden (current prices. SEK billions)

50

60

70

80

90

100

141312111009080706050403020100

92.6

88.1

88.683.7

77.8

79.177.8

72.570.0

63.260.7

60.058.655.4

51.9

Tourism's proportion of GDP higher than for agriculture, forestry, commercial fishery and the food industry combined. Since 2000, tourism's proportion of total GDP in Sweden has fluctuated between 2.6 and 2.8 per cent, which shows that tourism represents a fairly constant factor in relation to the overall economy. However, changes in the rest of the economy have a greater impact on tourism's proportion of GDP than upturns or downturns in tourism itself. The purpose of the figure is to illustrate tourism's proportion of GDP and relate it to a few comparable sectors/industries. In this context, the


23

sectors/industries selected serve only as examples of the rela-tion of various parts of the overall economy to the total GDP value and they are not intended to provide a comprehensive picture.


24

Export value of tourism

The export value of tourism is higher than for several important product areasExpenditure incurred by travellers from one country when they visit another country results in import and export values in the countries' balances of payments. Swedes' expenditure abroad is equal to imports, and foreign visitors' expenditure in Sweden is equal to exports in the Swedish balance of payments. Foreign visitors create an inflow of foreign currency into Swe-den, and foreign tourism in Sweden can therefore be regarded as an export sector like any other sector that exports goods or services. In 2014, the export value of tourism was again higher than the export values of several important product areas. The export value of tourism amounted to SEK 96.5 billion and was thus higher than, for example, food exports (SEK 58.9 billion) and iron and steel exports (SEK 50.1 billion).

The purpose of the figure below is to illustrate the export val-ue of tourism and relate it to the export value of a few impor-


1 Power-generating machinery for particular industries and metalworking

Tourism’s export value (foreign consumption in Sweden) andexport values for some important products areas 2014 (SEK billions)

0

20

40

60

80

100

FurnitureWoodproducts

CarsIron & steelFoodIndustrialmachinery1

Tourism

15.9

32.633.8

50.1

58.9

92.996.5

EXPORT VALUE OF TOURISM

25

tant product areas and thus illustrate the relative size of its ex-port value in relation to other important Swedish exports. In this context, the sectors/industries selected serve only as ex-amples and are not intended to provide a comprehensive pic-ture of all Swedish exports.

The export value of tourism is increasing faster than total exports from SwedenAfter a dramatic decrease of nearly 14 per cent in 2009, total exports of goods and services from Sweden increased again between 2010 and 2012, only to decrease again by 2.7 per cent in 2013. In 2014, the export value of tourism increased by 12.5 per cent, and total exports from Sweden increased by 5.1 per cent. Since 2000, total exports of goods and services from Sweden have enjoyed steady growth, increasing by nearly 66

Industrial machinery 1

TourismIron & steelFoodCarsWood productsFurniture


Tourism’s export value (foreign consumption in Sweden) and exportvalues for some important product areas (current prices, SEK billions)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

14131211100908070605

1 Power-generating machinery for particular industries and metalworking

Index for tourism’s export value compared with Sweden’stotal exports of goods and services (current prices). Index 2000 = 100


Tourism’s export value (foreign comsumption in Sweden)Sweden’s total exports (goods & services)

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

141312111009080706050403020100


26

per cent. During the same period, the export value of tourism has increased more than twice as much, by 137.5 per cent in current prices.

Tourism's proportion of total exports is increasingThe rapid growth of the export value of tourism in relation to the total export value of goods and services has meant that tourism's proportion of total exports increased during the period, from 3.9 per cent in 2000 to 5.5 per cent in 2014.

Tourism’s export value as a percentage of Sweden’s total exports of goods and services


0

2

4

6

8

141312111009080706050403020100

4.94.6 4.6 4.8

5.25.5

4.44.74.54.24.04.1

4.64.43.9

VAT revenue from foreign visitor’ consumptionin Sweden (current prices, SEK billions)


0

3

6

9

12

15

141312111009080706050403020100

9.6 9.7 10.3 10.5 10.7

12.4

10.610.99.9

8.0

6.66.16.76.5

5.5

Tourism is the only export sector that generates direct VAT revenue for the public purseIn 2014, VAT on consumption by foreign visitors in Sweden amounted to SEK 12.4 billion, representing an increase of ap-proximately SEK 6.9 billion or nearly 126 per cent since 2000.


27

The export value of travel expenditure in the balance of payments is increasing faster than the import valueStatistics Sweden (SCB) has revised the time series for travel expenditure from 2006 onwards. The intention was to en-hance the quality of the calculations of Sweden's balance of payments, and this has resulted in changes in the travel item, i.e. the travel expenditure item. In the new calculations, it has been possible to identify and remove elements that do not be-long to the travel item. Consequently, the absolute values for imports (Swedish consumption on travel abroad) and for ex-ports (foreign consumption on travel to Sweden) have been reduced. Although the revision has meant that the difference between import and export values has increased, the export value has grown faster, increasing by fully 133 per cent since 2000, while the import value has increased by fully 72 per cent.

Source: Sveriges Riksbank/Statistics Sweden

Index for travel currency growth. Index 2000 = 100

0

50

100

150

200

250

141312111009080706050403020100

Import (consumption by Swedish travellers abroad)

Export (consumption by foreign travellers in Sweden)


28

Average number of employees in tourism in SwedenAverage number of employees in Sweden, overall


Index for tourism employment trend in comparison withoverall employment trend in Sweden. Index 2000 = 100

90

100

110

120

130

141312111009080706050403020100

Effects of tourism on employment

Tourism is contributing to increased employmentIn 2014, the number of people employed in tourism increased by 4.9 per cent, while total employment in Sweden increased by 1.4 per cent. Since 2000, employment in tourism has in-creased by 28,400 people or by nearly 22 per cent. During the same period, total employment in Sweden increased by ap-proximately 10 per cent.

More people employed in tourism than in many large corporations combinedTo illustrate the importance of tourism to employment in Sweden, the average number of people employed in tourism in 2014 is compared with corresponding figures for a number of large corporations and their operations in Sweden in 2014. As the figure below shows, the number of people employed as a result of tourism exceeded the total number for large corpo-rations.

EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON EMPLOYMENT

29

Most people employed in tourism are employed in hotels and restaurantsOf the total 159,200 people employed as a result of tourism in 2014, most worked in the hotel and restaurant sector. The sec-


Number employed in tourism (individuals, average) in different sectors in 2014

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

Travelagencies

Culture &recreation

TransportGoodsHotel &restaurants

16 60011 800

20 000

31 600

75 800

Swedish tourismVolvo AB and subsidiariesEricssonVolvo CarsScaniaPeabSandvikSkanskaABB NordenVattenfallTeliaSoneraSSABAstraZenecaÅF ABSCAAtlas CopcoLKAB

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and the companies

Comparison of numbers employed in Sweden in 2014

0

50 000

100 000

150 000

200 000

159 200 157 008


Number of employees (individuals, average) in different tourism sectors 2014

0 20 000 40 000 60 000 80 000

Sea travelRental

Rail travelOther services

Air travelOther overland travel

Travel agenciesCulture & recreation

GoodsHotels & restaurants

1 200

1 300

1 600

3 400

5 600

10 300

11 800

16 600

31 600 75 800


30


Development of number employed in tourism(individuals, average) in different sectors

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

141312111009080706050403020100

Hotel & restaurants

Goods

Transports

Culture & recreation

Travel agencies

tor employed 75,800 people as a result of tourism, equivalent to just over 47 per cent of all people employed in tourism. The next largest sectors were travel agencies and transport, with 31,800 employees combined, and trade in goods, with 31,600 employees, each sector accounting for approximately 20 per cent of the total.

Most new jobs in hotels and restaurantsSince 2000, the number of people employed in tourism has in-creased most in absolute figures in the hotel and restaurant sec-tor. The number of people employed has increased by just over 25,000, equivalent to an increase of nearly 50 per cent. In trade in goods, the corresponding increase was 9,600 people em-ployed, an increase of nearly 44 per cent. The sector with the strongest percentage growth is culture and recreation, which has increased by nearly 85 per cent or by 7,600 people em-ployed since 2000. In the travel agency and tour operator sec-tors and in the transport sector, employment has fallen by 12.6 and 18.4 per cent, respectively, since 2000.

Employment is falling in many basic industries, but increasing in tourismWhile employment has fallen in many traditional basic indus-tries in Sweden, tourism has contributed to more jobs in many service sectors. Since 2000, tourism has contributed to an increase in the number of hours worked of just over 14 per cent. In the manufacturing industry, for example, the number of hours worked has fallen by nearly 24 per cent during the


31

same period. In agriculture, forestry and commercial fishery, the number of hours worked has fallen by nearly 12 per cent, and in the production of goods by nearly 9 per cent since 2000. Apart from tourism in the examples below, the sector that has shown a positive trend since 2000 is credit institu-tions and insurance companies, where the number of hours worked has increased by 1.4 per cent.


Index for hours worked within tourism comparedwith some other selected industries. Index 2000 = 100

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

141312111009080706050403020100

Tourism

Product manufacturers

Agriculture, forestry & industrial fishing

Finance and insurance

Engineering

The purpose of the figure above is to illustrate the effects of tourism on employment over time in relation to the growth in employment in a few selected branches of economic activity. In this context, the branches of economic activity selected serve only as examples and are not intended to provide a comprehensive picture of all elements of employment growth in Sweden.


32

International tourism

The World Tourism Organization predicts continued growthIn 2011, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) published a new vision for the expected growth in global travel up to 2020 and 2030, "Tourism Towards 2030". The UNWTO predicts a global increase in international travel of nearly 45 per cent to a total of 1.36 billion journeys by 2020. By 2030, global travel is expected to have increased by just over 90 per cent to a total of 1.8 billion journeys. A corresponding in-crease of nearly 30 per cent to a total of 620 million journeys is predicted for travel to and within Europe, and by just over 50 per cent to a total of 744 million journeys by 2030.

World Vision2020

Vision 2030

Europe

Source: UNWTO

UNWTOs vision for international travel for 2020 and 2030, and the outcome forthe period up to 2014. Number of trips with at least one overnight stay (millions)

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

203020202014201020001993

Europe and North and South America are expected to increase less than the rest of the worldAs illustrated in the map below, the parts of the world that currently have the lowest proportion of international travel, apart from Asia and the Pacific region, will increase most up

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM

33

to 2030. Africa, with annual growth of approximately 5 per cent, is anticipated to be the region where travel will increase most up to 2030. Asia and the Pacific region, which already account for approximately 22 per cent of global travel, are ex-pected to increase by nearly as much, 4.9 per cent per annum. The Middle East is also expected to have high growth of 4.6 per cent per annum. North and South America and Europe are expected to increase least, with annual growth rates of 2.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent, respectively, up to 2030.

Source: UNWTO

UNWTOs vision for growth in internationaltravel by world region from 2010 to 2030

+ 66 %North/SouthAmerica + 166 %

Africa

+ 162 %Asia/Pacific+ 145 %

Middle East

+ 57 %Europe

Long-term increase in Sweden According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international travel worldwide has increased by 68 per cent since 2000. The total number of international arrivals world-wide was calculated to be just over 1.1 billion in 2014. In re-cent years, strong growth in Asia, in particular, has accounted for a large portion of the worldwide increase. In Europe, the increase since 2000 has been just over 50 per cent. Foreign tourism to Sweden, measured in the number of nights spent by foreigners in hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels, has increased by just over 60 per cent in the same period. During this period, therefore, Sweden as a destination has enjoyed slightly less average growth than the rest of the world in total, but better growth than Europe as a whole. In 2014, interna-tional travel increased by 4.7 per cent globally and by 3.9 per cent in Europe, while the number of nights spent by foreign-ers in Sweden increased by a total of 6.7 per cent.


34

The number of arrivals increased most in North and South America in 2014Global travel reached 1.1 billion international arrivals in 2014, an increase of 51 million or 4.7 per cent on 2013. Travel to and within all parts of the world increased. North and South America were the parts of the world where travel increased most during 2014. Even in the Middle East, where growth was weak or declining in recent years, travel increased by 4.4 per cent. The biggest increase in absolute figures was recorded in Europe, 22 million additional international arrivals, equiva-lent to an increase of 3.9 per cent. Asia with the Pacific region and Africa increased by 5.3 per cent and 2.3 per cent, respec-tively, in 2014.

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden/UNWTO

Index for international travel worldwide and in Europe with a night spent (UNWTO), and foreign volumes at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels in Sweden (Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden). Index 2000=100

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

141312111009080706050403020100

WorldEuropeSweden

Source: UNWTO

Distribution of international arrivals with overnight staysin 2014 by world region, with percentage change from 2013

Europe, 52 (+3.9)Asia/Pacific, 23 (+5.3)North/South America, 16 (+7.4)Africa, 5 (+2.3)Middle East, 4 (+4.4)


35

Tourism in Sweden

Tourism in Sweden consists of the total of domestic and in-bound volumes in Sweden. See also the definitions on page 87. The chapter is based on data from the accommodation statistics and from the guest harbour statistics. For facts about the surveys, see pages 89 and 91.

The number of commercial nights spent increased in 2014The number of nights spent at Swedish hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, commercially arranged rentals in private cottag-es and apartments (PCAs) and camping sites increased by just over 2.7 million or 5 per cent to a total of 56.4 million during 2014. Nights spent by Swedes increased by 4.4 per cent to 42.7 million and nights spent by foreigners increased by 6.7 per cent to 13.7 million. During the period 2008 to 2014, the num-ber of nights spent increased by a total of 6.3 million or 12.6 per cent. Nights spent by Swedes increased by 11.9 per cent and nights spent by foreigners increased by 14.9 per cent.


Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and campsites by market area (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

Foreign/inbound

Swedish/domestic

Total

2008200920102011201220132014

* Commercially arranged private cottages and apartments

+6.7 %

+4.4 %

+5.0 %

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

36

InboundDomestic


Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels (thousands)

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

40 000

1413121110090807060504030201009998979695

The volumes from abroad are increasing fastestTourism in Sweden has been growing for many years. Since 1995, the total volumes at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels have increased by nearly 60 per cent. For these types of accommodation, the foreign markets have increased fastest by just over 88 per cent, while the domestic market has in-creased by just over 50 per cent. The proportion of nights spent by foreigners at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels increased in total from 20.1 per cent to 23.8 per cent between 1995 and 2014.

Increases in virtually the entire country during 2014The most nights spent at Swedish hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, commercially arranged rentals in private cottag-es and apartments (PCAs) and camping sites in 2014 were in the three metropolitan regions. Stockholm County had the highest number, with 11.8 million nights spent, followed by Västra Götaland with 9.1 million, Skåne with 5.1 million, Dalarna with 4.9 million and Halland with 2.6 million. In percentage terms, the increase was greatest in Stockholm County (7.6 per cent), followed by Skåne (7.3 per cent). In absolute figures, the increase was also greatest in Stockholm County (835,400 nights spent), followed by Västra Götaland (500,000 nights spent).

Metropolitan regions are increasing more than the rest of the countryThe three metropolitan regions combined accounted for a large proportion, 63 per cent, of the total increase of just over

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

37

Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs*and campsites by region 2014, with percentage change 2013–2014

> 83–62–31–2< 1

Millions of nights spent

Source: Swedish Agencyfor Economic and Regional

Growth/Statistics Sweden* Commercially arrangedprivate cottages and apartments

+1.8 %

+1.2 %

+5.4 %+6.7 %

+5.0 %

+3.0 %

+0.6 %

+5.8 %

+5.5 %

+7.6 %–4.1

+4.2

–0.5

+6.4

+6.5 %

+1.1 %

+3.9 %+7.3 %

+5.0 %

+4.7 %

+5.9 %

2.7 million nights spent in 2014 and increased their propor-tion of the total number from 45.3 per cent in 2013 to 46.2 per cent. Both Dalarna and Halland, which, with the three metro-


Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs’ and campsites, in the five largest Swedish regions (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

10 000

12 000

HallandDalarnaSkåneV. GötalandStockholm

2008200920102011201220132014


+5.9 %

+3.0 %+7.3 %

+5.8 %

+7.6 %

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

38

politan regions, make up the five largest regions, recorded in-creases of 3.0 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively, in 2014. However, taking the past seven-year period into account, growth has been more positive in the three metropolitan regions than in the two other regions.

The metropolitan regions are increasing in the long termSince 1998, the nights spent at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels in the three metropolitan regions combined have increased by just over 72 per cent. During the same period, the volumes in the rest of Sweden have increased by just over 32 per cent. In Stockholm County, volumes have increased by just over 77 per cent, and in Västra Götaland by just over 70 per cent since 1998.

Dalarna


Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages and youthhostels in four of the largest regions in Sweden (thousands)

0

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

10 000

12 000

1413121110090807060504030201009998

Stockholm

V. Götaland

Skåne


Nights spent by type of accommodation (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

Holidayvillages

Youth hostelsPCAs*Campsites Hotels

2008200920102011201220132014


+6.8 %+6.4 %+2.4 %

+3.8 %

+5.6 %

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

39


Nights spent by type of accommodation (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

Holidayvillages

Youth hostelsPCAs*Campsites Hotels

2008200920102011201220132014


+6.8 %+6.4 %+2.4 %

+3.8 %

+5.6 %

The biggest increase was in holiday villages and youth hostels in 2014The number of nights spent in Sweden at hotels, holiday villag-es, youth hostels, commercially arranged rentals in private cot-tages and apartments (PCAs) and camping sites increased by a total of 5 per cent to 56.4 million during 2014. Holiday villages saw the biggest percentage increase of 6.8 per cent. The number of nights spent in other types of accommodation also increased in 2014. At youth hostels and hotels, the number of nights spent increased by 6.4 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively, and for commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apart-ments the increase was 2.4 per cent. Hotels accounted for 31.1 million nights spent or just over 55 per cent of all nights spent in 2014, and camping sites for 15 million or nearly 27 per cent. During the period from 2008 to 2014, nights spent at hotels in-creased by just over 20 per cent, at youth hostels by 15 per cent and at camping sites by 9.6 per cent. However, nights spent at commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apart-ments and in holiday villages decreased by 1.2 per cent and 17.5 per cent, respectively, during the same period.

Long-term increase during the autumn and winter monthsThe summer months of June to August 2014 generated a total of 24.2 million nights spent in Sweden, equivalent to 45 per cent of the total annual volume at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, arranged private cottages and apartments

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

40

Other accommodationHotels


Beds at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels (thousands)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1413121110090807060504030201009998979695949392

(PCAs) and camping sites. In 2014, the number of nights spent increased in all months of the year apart from March, when the figure fell by 3.3 per cent. April and December were the months that increased most, with 9.7 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively. During the period from 2008 to 2014, the summer months of July and August increased most in num-bers of nights spent, both by 1.1 million nights spent. Howev-er, in percentage terms, the autumn and winter months from October to December have increased most since 2008, by ap-proximately 20 per cent.


Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* andcampsites by month (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

10 000

12 000

DecNovOctSepAugJulJunMayAprMarFebJan

2008200920102011

201220132014


+3.8 %+4.1 % –3.3 % +9.7 %

+6.3 %

+5.7 %

+4.2 %

+6.0 %

+5.8 % +6.8 %+2.4 % +9.8 %

100,000 more beds since the start of the 1990sThe number of beds at Swedish hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels increased by a total of 1.9 per cent to just over 328,000 in 2014. At hotels, the number of beds increased by 1.3 per cent and at youth hostels and holiday villages by a to-

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

41

Key figures for capacity, 2014

HotelsHoliday villages

Youth hostels

Campingsites

Number of estab-lishments

2,003 266 822 1,081

Number of rooms/cottages

113,944 7,812 - 107,924 plots

12,095 cottages

Number of beds 228,387 39,857 44,544 -

Nights spent 28.6 2.9 3.1 14.0 million

Occupancy of rooms/cottages

50% 34% - - per cent

Occupancy, beds 38% 24% 24% - per cent


Business travellers, 49 %Conference guests, 10 %Private group travellers, 7 %Private individual travellers, 34 %


Target group distribution, hotel rooms occupied/sold in 2014 (percent)

tal of 3.6 per cent. Hotels accounted for nearly 73 per cent of the total bed capacity at the three types of accommodation and for 83 per cent of the nights spent in 2014. Since 1992, the total number of beds for the three types of accommodation has increased by 44 per cent or approximately 100,000.

Increase in the number of rooms sold to leisure travellers When conference and business travellers spend the night, there is usually one guest per room. When leisure travellers spend the night, it is much more common for there to be more than one person per room. Consequently, the number of rooms sold per target group is dominated by conference and business travellers, who together accounted for 59 per cent of the rooms sold at hotels in 2014. In 2014, the number of rooms sold to leisure travellers increased by nearly 10 per cent, while the increase for conference and business travellers was only 1.1 per cent. Since 2008, leisure travellers' propor-tion of total occupancy has increased considerably more (by nearly 40 per cent) than that of conference and business trav-

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

42

ellers, which only increased by 1.9 per cent during the same period.

Greatest increase in accommodation revenues was from youth hostelsHotels accounted for 75 per cent of nights spent at Swedish hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels and commercially ar-ranged rentals in private cottages and apartments, and for nearly 90 per cent of the total accommodation revenues in 2014. Commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments (PCAs), which is the second largest type of ac-commodation of the four measured for numbers of nights spent, accounted for 10 per cent of the volume and for 4 per cent of the accommodation revenues. Accommodation reve-nues increased in total in current prices for the four types of accommodation by 4.4 per cent or by nearly SEK 907 million during 2014. Accommodation revenues at hotels increased by nearly SEK 750 million or 4.1 per cent and at youth hostels by

Hotels, 75 %PCAs*, 10 %Youth hostels, 8 %Holiday villages, 7 %

Hotels, 89 %PCAs*, 4 %Youth hostels, 4 %Holiday villages, 3 %


Volumes and revenue by type of accommodation in 2014 (percent)

VOLUMES/NIGHTS SPENT

ACCOMMODATIONREVENUE



Development of target group distribution, proportion of roomsoccupied/sold at hotels (per cent) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Private grouptravellers

Conference guestsPrivate individualtravellers

Business travellers

2008200920102011201220132014

–3.5 %–1.3 %

+13.3 %

+1.6 %

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

43

Volumes/nights spentAccommodation revenue


Index for accommodation revenue (2005 prices) and volumes/nightsspent at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels. Index 2005 = 100

90

100

110

120

130

140

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005

nearly SEK 94 million or by nearly 11 per cent. Accommoda-tion revenues at holiday villages increased by just over SEK 34 million and, for commercially arranged rentals in private cot-tages and apartments, accommodation revenues increased by nearly SEK 31 million in 2014.

Accommodation revenues have increased more than volumes since 2005Measured in constant prices (i.e. taking inflation into ac-count), accommodation revenues at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels have increased by just over 37 per cent since 2005. During the same period, the number of nights spent at these types of accommodation has increased by just over 30 per cent. Accommodation revenues fell during 2009, while volumes were largely the same as in 2008. Since 2009, both accommodation revenues and volumes have continued to increase. In 2014, volumes increased at the three types of accommodation by 5.7 per cent, and accommodation reve-nues by 4.4 per cent.

Accommodation revenues a measure of the regional importance of tourismIt is common to use volumes measured in numbers of com-mercial nights spent as an indicator of the local and regional growth of tourism. However, this variable has limited explan-atory value. At the national level, volume data can be supple-mented with economic data on import and export values, added value, employment, etc. This is not possible to do in the

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

44

Total accommodation revenue at hotels, holiday villages, PCAs* and youth hostels per region, distributed per inhabitant, 2014

Region

Accommodation revenue per

inhabitant, SEK

Total accommodation revenue per region

(SEK 1,000)

13/14, per cent

Jämtland 5,192 657,203 6.6

Gotland 5,054 289,122 5.0

Stockholm 3,494 7,673,651 4.9

Dalarna 3,485 970,960 0.5

Norrbotten 2,980 744,423 6.0

Kalmar 2,108 496,004 7.5

Västra Götaland 1,970 3,212,192 3.9

Västerbotten 1,918 502,941 15.1

Värmland 1,842 505,672 4.3

Halland 1,733 537,650 11.2

Västernorrland 1,693 411,256 4.0

Skåne 1,566 2,015,938 4.6

Jönköping 1,552 533,835 2.0

Östergötland 1,477 652,202 4.0

Kronoberg 1,422 268,553 2.7

Blekinge 1,319 202,969 3.1

Uppsala 1,257 438,568 2.0

Södermanland 1,214 340,264 1.4

Gävleborg 1,203 336,361 2.7

Örebro 1,181 339,625 -3.4

Västmanland 1,007 263,397 2.5

The entire country 2,233 21,465,177 4.4

*Commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden

same way locally and regionally. However, the accommoda-tion revenues reported in the accommodation statistics con-stitute another variable that may be used to measure the re-gional and local importance of tourism. Although accommodation revenues are highest in absolute figures in the metropolitan regions, the regional importance of tourism, measured in accommodation revenues per capita is higher both in Jämtland and on Gotland.

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

45

Number of nights spent and change in number of boat nights, 2013–2014, private recreational craft per region, 2014

> 200100–20050–10015–50< 15No information

Thousands of nights spent

Source: SwedishAgency for Economic and

Regional Growth/RGS

249

529

IncreaseDecreaseNo information

Number of boat nights

More than four out of ten nights spent at guest harbours are spent in Västra GötalandA total of nearly 1.3 million nights spent (one guest, one night) and just over 495,000 boat nights (one boat, one night) were recorded at Swedish guest harbours in 2014. Just over 41 per cent of all nights spent were spent in Västra Götaland, fol-lowed by Stockholm County with 19.3 per cent. The other 40 per cent were well distributed across the country, with Skåne and Kalmar counties accounting for 9.6 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively, of the total number. The majority of regions had a smaller number of boat nights (one boat, one night), although the number of nights spent increased by a total of 16.9 per cent during 2014.

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

46

Nights spent in guest harbours, private recreational craft per region, 2014

Region NumberProportion in per cent 13/14, per cent

Västra Götaland 529,048 41.1 13.6

Stockholm 248,683 19.3 28.1

Skåne 124,096 9.6 17.3

Kalmar 85,917 6.7 6.6

Blekinge 55,654 4.3 20.1

Östergötland1 53,407 4.1 8.6

Södermanland 43,717 3.4 15.6

Västernorrland 42,984 3.3 23.8

Halland 28,031 2.2 26.1

Gotland 24,495 1.9 17.4

Gävleborg 13,687 1.1 13.7

Värmland 10,280 0.8 16.8

Uppsala 9,347 0.7 16.9

Norrbotten 7,967 0.6 21.1

Örebro 3,638 0.3 12.1

Västerbotten 3,378 0.3 17.0

Västmanland2 3,253 0.3 16.4

The entire country 1,287,582 100.0 16.9

1 Östergötland includes guest harbours from Jönköping County.2 Västmanland includes guest harbours in Dalarna that are included in the Strömsholm canal system.Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/RGS

Boat nights in guest harbours, private recreational craft per region, 2014

Region NumberProportion in per cent 13/14, per cent

Västra Götaland 203,480 41.1 -3.9

Stockholm 95,647 19.3 8.4

Skåne 47,729 9.6 -0.7

Kalmar 33,045 6.7 -9.8

Östergötland1 20,541 4.1 -8.1

Blekinge 21,405 4.3 1.6

Södermanland 16,814 3.4 -2.2

Västernorrland 16,532 3.3 4.8

Halland 10,781 2.2 6.7

Gotland 9,421 1.9 -0.7

Gävleborg 5,264 1.1 -3.8

Värmland 3,954 0.8 -1.2

Uppsala 3,598 0.7 -1.0

Norrbotten 3,064 0.6 2.5

Örebro 1,399 0.3 -5.2

Västerbotten 1,299 0.3 -1.0

Västmanland2 1,251 0.3 -1.5

The entire country 495,224 100.0 -1.1

1 Östergötland includes guest harbours from Jönköping County.2 Västmanland includes guest harbours in Dalarna that are included in the Strömsholm canal system.Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/RGS

TOURISM IN SWEDEN

47


Number of domestic nights spent by type of accommodation in 2014 (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0 5 000 10 000 15 000 20 000 25 000 30 000

Holiday villages

Youth hostels

PCAs*

Campsites

Hotels

2 176 (+4.0 %)

2 546 (+6.4 %)

2 634 (+2.2 %)

11 646 (+3.8 %)

23 652 (+4.8 %)


Domestic tourism

Domestic tourism involves residents of a given country travel-ling within that country. See also the definitions on page 87. This chapter is based on data from the accommodation statis-tics. For facts about the statistics, see page 89.

Domestic volume increased during 2014The number of domestic nights spent (by Swedes) in Sweden at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, commercially ar-ranged rentals in private cottages and apartments (PCAs) and camping sites increased by a total of 4.4 per cent to 42.7 mil-lion during 2014 and accounted for just over 75 per cent of all nights spent. All types of accommodation reported increases in 2014. The increases in 2014 were 6.4 per cent at youth hos-tels, 4.8 per cent at hotels, 4.0 per cent at holiday villages, 3.8 per cent at camping sites and 2.2 per cent for commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments (PCAs).

Gävleborg and Västernorrland had the highest proportion of domestic tourism The most domestic nights spent in 2014 were in Stockholm County (7.8 million) and Västra Götaland County (6.5 mil-

DOMESTIC TOURISM

48

lion), followed by Dalarna (4.2 million) and Skåne (3.9 mil-lion). Nearly all regions of Sweden reported increases in do-mestic nights spent in 2014. The percentage increases were highest in Jämtland (8.9 per cent) and on the island county of Gotland (7.9 per cent). However, as the table below shows, the proportion of domestic nights spent of the total nights spent varies greatly across Sweden. The highest proportion of do-mestic volume was in Gävleborg with 91.7 per cent, followed by Västernorrland and Gotland, both with 89.0 per cent.

Number and proportion of domestic nights spent (by Swedes) at hotels, holi-day villages, youth hostels, commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments (PCAs)* and camping sites per region in 2014, with percent-age change 2013–2014

Region

Domestic Total

Propor-tion, per cent per region Number

Change13/14, % Number

Change 13/14, %

Gävleborg 91.7 921,796 5.3 1,004,928 5.0

Västernorrland 89.0 989,684 5.4 1,111,501 5.4

Gotland 89.0 790,034 7.9 887,783 6.5

Halland 88.5 2,341,981 5.7 2,645,775 5.9

Dalarna 86.5 4,248,869 3.2 4,912,641 3.0

Västmanland 86.0 612,582 4.2 711,891 4.2

Södermanland 86.0 874,765 0.3 1,017,612 -0.5

Uppsala 85.1 952,542 5.3 1,119,439 5.5

Östergötland 83.1 1,321,147 6.2 1,590,273 6.4

Kalmar 82.2 2,148,274 -0.4 2,613,246 1.1

Örebro 81.5 892,636 -2.9 1,094,653 -4.1

Jämtland 79.0 2,057,455 8.9 2,602,768 6.7

Västerbotten 78.0 1,234,188 3.6 1,583,031 1.2

Skåne 76.7 3,945,191 5.6 5,140,333 7.3

Blekinge 75.2 670,360 3.5 891,878 3.9

Västra Götaland 71.5 6,484,017 4.9 9,069,647 5.8

Jönköping 71.4 1,068,066 4.9 1,495,437 4.7

Norrbotten 68.2 1,494,167 1.1 2,191,442 1.8

Stockholm 66.3 7,840,006 6.2 11,822,869 7.6

Värmland 61.7 1,254,333 -1.0 2,033,643 0.6

Kronoberg 59.5 511,536 4.7 860,429 5.0

The entire country

75.6 42,653,629 4.4 56,401,219 5.0

*Commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartmentsSource: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden

DOMESTIC TOURISM

49

Proportion of domestic nights spent (by Swedes) of total number of nights spent athotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and camping sites per region in 2014

> 88 %87–88 %85–87 %70–85 %< 70 %

Proportion of domestic nights spent (by Swedes)



89 %

92 %

89 %

Summer months account for more than 40 per cent of volumesThe three summer months of June to August account for nearly 43 per cent of the total volumes for the year. The num-ber of domestic nights spent increased in all months of the year apart from March, when the figure fell by 2.3 per cent in 2014. Since 2008, December has increased most in relative figures, by nearly 23 per cent. In absolute figures, July has increased most, by nearly 880,000 nights spent.

DOMESTIC TOURISM

50


Number of domestic nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs*and campsites, by month (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

10 000



2008200920102011

201220132014

+3.7 % +4.5 %–2.3 %

+5.6 %

+6.9 %+5.6 %

+4.8 %

+2.1 %

+5.7 % +6.9 % +2.1 % +10.0 %

DOMESTIC TOURISM

51

Inbound tourism

Inbound tourism involves people who are resident in another country travelling in a given country. See also the definitions on page 87. This chapter is based on data from the accommo-dation statistics, the guest harbour statistics, the statistics on foreign ownership of holiday homes in Sweden and the in-bound visitors to Sweden border survey (IBIS). For facts about the surveys, see pages 89 and 91.

Large increase in nights spent by foreigners in Sweden in 2014 The total number of nights spent by foreigners in Sweden at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments (PCAs) and camp-ing sites was 13.7 million in 2014, equivalent to an increase of nearly 860,000 nights spent or a total of 6.7 per cent. This was a higher increase in the number of nights spent than for the entire preceding five-year period combined. Since 2009, nights spent in total have increased by 11.5 per cent. The non-European market has grown continuously since 2009 by a to-tal of nearly 82 per cent from 1.4 to 2.5 million. Compared with 2013, the increase in 2014 was all of 21 per cent. The non-European market's proportion of the total number of nights spent increased from 11.4 per cent in 2009 to 18.5 per cent in 2014.

Nights spent by visitors from neighbouring Nordic countries have fallen by just over 130,000 nights spent or 2.6 per cent since 2009. Europe outside the Nordic region, the single big-gest market outside Sweden, has increased by just over 420,000 nights spent or 6.9 per cent since 2009, and increased by 7.2 per cent between 2013 and 2014.

INBOUND TOURISM

52

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden* Commersially arranged private cottages and apartments

Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* andcampsites, by market area (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0

1 000

2 000

3 000

4 000

5 000

6 000

7 000

Non-EuropeanNordic (excl. Sweden)Europe (excl. Nordic)

200920102011

201220132014

+21.0 %

–0.1 %

+7.2 %

Distant markets are increasing most Of the four biggest non-European markets, the USA, China and India have increased continuously since 2009. The USA has increased by just over 40 per cent, China by just over 107 per cent and India by just over 207 per cent. The fourth largest distant market, Japan, has had uneven growth and accounted for nearly 6 per cent fewer nights spent in 2014 than in 2009. In total, the nights spent by visitors from non-European mar-kets have increased by nearly 82 per cent since 2009, while the total volume from abroad increased by 11.5 per cent during the same period.

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden* Commercially arranged private cottages and apartments

Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* andcampsites by market area 2014, with percentage change 2013–2014

+ 10.5 %USA

+ 21.0 %Non-European total

+ 22.4 %India

– 2.8 %Japan

+ 6.9 %China

+ 7.2 %Europe (excl. Nordic)

– 0.1 %Nordic (excl. Sweden)

INBOUND TOURISM

53

Norway and Germany are the largest foreign marketsIn 2014, the largest foreign markets were again Norway, with 3.3 million nights spent, followed by Germany with 2.8 mil-lion and Denmark with 1.1 million. Of the fifteen largest for-eign markets in 2014, nights spent by visitors from all coun-tries increased apart from Denmark, Finland and Russia. The markets that increased most in absolute figures were Germa-ny, with an additional 184,000 nights spent, followed by the UK, with an additional 64,000 nights spent. In relative figures, India and Spain increased most, by 22.4 per cent and 13.1 per cent, respectively. The markets that decreased most in 2014 were Russia, with 34,000 fewer nights spent or a fall of 14.1 per cent, and Denmark, with 7,000 fewer nights spent, or a fall of 0.6 per cent.


Nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and campsites from the four largest non-European markets/countries (thousands), with percentage change 2013–2014

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

JapanIndiaChinaUSA

200920102011201220132014

+10.5 %

+6.9 %+22.4 %

–2.8 %

INBOUND TOURISM

54

> 0.80.6–0.80.3–0.60.1–0.3< 0.1


3.3

1.1

2.8

Foreign nights spent in Sweden at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and campsites by market/country 2014


INBOUND TOURISM

55

IncreaseDecrease

Change in nights spent by foregin visitors in Sweden per market/country at hotels,holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and apartments and camping sites, 2014


INBOUND TOURISM

56

Norway is increasing and Denmark is decreasing Of the five largest foreign markets at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, commercially arranged rentals in private cot-tages and apartments and camping sites, all increased except for Denmark, for which the number of nights spent decreased by 0.6 per cent during 2014. Since 2009, the Norwegian mar-ket has increased most, by 346,000 nights spent or nearly 12 per cent. The UK and Germany have also increased, by 11.7 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively. During this period, Denmark has decreased by nearly 520,000 nights spent or just over 32 per cent, and the Netherlands has decreased by nearly 70,000 nights spent or just over 10 per cent.


Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels,PCAs* and campsites from the five largest foreign markets (thousands)


0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

201420132012201120102009

Norway

Netherlands

Germany

Denmark

UK

0 1 000 2 000 3 000 4 000

Spain India

China Russia

Poland Italy

France Switzerland

USA Finland

Netherlands UK

Denmark Germany

Norway

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden* Commercially arraged private cottages and apartments

Night spent by visitors from the fifteen largest foreign markets/countriesat hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and camping sites(thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

149 (+13.1 %)155 (+22.4 %)

203 (+6.9 %)208 (–14.1 %)225 (+4.0 %)237 (+4.0 %)292 (+3.3 %)309 (+12.7 %)

504 (+10.5 %)536 (–1.1 %)

612 (+10.8 %)664 (+10.7 %)

1 091 (–0.6 %)2 783 (+7.1 %)

3 264 (+0.1 %)

INBOUND TOURISM

57


Foreign nights spent by type of accommodation 2014 (thousands) with percentage change 2013–2014

0 2 000 4 000 6 000 8 000

Holiday villages

Youth hostels

PCAs*

Campsites

Hotels

667 (+17.0 %)

771 (+6.5 %)

1 487 (+2.7 %)

3 401 (+3.9 %) 7 421(+8.0 %)


Increase in the proportion of foreign nights spentThe proportion of foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday vil-lages and youth hostels was 23.8 per cent in 2014. Between 1995 and 2005, the proportion increased from 20.1 per cent to 23.1 per cent and subsequently did not change appreciably be-tween 2005 and 2013. However, between 2013 and 2014, the proportion increased from 23.2 per cent to 23.8 per cent.


Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages and youth hostels – percentage share of total number of nights spent

20

21

22

23

24

1413121110090807060504030201009998979695

The number of nights spent by foreign visitors increased most at hotelsOf the commercial types of accommodation, hotels was the type that recorded the most nights spent by foreign visitors and was also the type for which the number of nights spent by foreign visitors increased most during 2014. The number of nights spent by foreign visitors at hotels was 7.4 million or just over half of all nights spent by foreign visitors, and the in-crease in 2014 was 8 per cent. Holiday villages was the type of accommodation that increased most in relative figures, by

INBOUND TOURISM

58

17.0 per cent. The increase for youth hostels was 6.5 per cent. Camping sites, which accounted for 3.4 million nights spent, increased by 3.9 per cent, and, for commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartments, the number of nights spent by foreign visitors increased by 2.7 per cent to 1.5 million during 2014.

Highest increase in nights spent by foreign visitors in spring and autumnIn 2014, more than half or 7.3 million of the nights spent by visitors from abroad were spent during the summer months of June to August. This was a small increase in volume com-pared with 2013. Since 2009, the proportion of nights spent by foreign visitors during the summer months has decreased, from 55.4 per cent to 52.9 per cent in 2014. There was no in-crease in July, while August was the month with the highest increases during the period. The spring and autumn months had the highest percentage increase during the period from 2009 to 2014.


Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and campsites by month (thousands), with percentage change 2013–2014


0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

4 000


200920102011201220132014

+4.1 % +2.7 % –7.6 % +27.8 %+4.0 %

+5.8 %

+2.9 %

+15.5 %

+6.1 %+6.7 %

+4.0 % +8.8 %

High volumes from abroad in the three metropolitan regionsApart from high volumes in the three metropolitan regions, the most nights spent by foreign visitors were spent in Värm-land, Norrbotten and Dalarna. Stockholm County, with nearly 4 million nights spent, was highest, followed by Västra Göta-land, with nearly 2.6 million, and Skåne, with 1.2 million

INBOUND TOURISM

59

Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and campsites by region 2014

> 0.80.6–0.80.4–0.60.3–0.4< 0.3




4,0

2,6

1,2

nights spent by foreign visitors. However, the proportion of nights spent by foreign visitors in relation to the total number of nights spent in each region varies greatly across Sweden. Kronoberg had the highest volumes of foreign visitors, with 40.5 per cent, followed by Värmland, with 38.3 per cent, and Stockholm County, with 33.7 per cent. Gävleborg had the low-est proportion, with 8.3 per cent. See also the table on page 60.

Highest increase in nights spent by foreign visitors in SkåneIn total, the volumes of foreign visitors at commercial types of accommodation increased by 6.7 per cent or by nearly 860,000 nights spent during 2014. In three out of four regions, the number of nights spent by foreign visitors increased in 2014. Skåne had the highest percentage increase, with 13.3 per cent, followed by Stockholm County, with 10.6 per cent.

INBOUND TOURISM

60

The three metropolitan regions all increased in 2014 and to-gether accounted for 7.8 million or just over 56 per cent of all nights spent by foreign visitors. For domestic nights spent, the three metropolitan regions accounted for 43 per cent.

Nearly one third of nights spent by foreign visitors in Stockholm CountyStockholm County accounted for nearly 30 per cent of all nights spent by foreign visitors in Sweden and the volume increased by 10.6 per cent in 2014. Of the ten largest regions, nights spent increased most in relative figures in Skåne, by 13.3 per cent, fol-lowed by Stockholm County and then by Kalmar County, which

Nights spent by visitors from abroad and total number of nights spent per region at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and camping sites in 2014, with percentage change 2013–2014, and nights spent by visitors from abroad as a proportion of total number of nights spent per region

Region

Foreign/Inbound Total

Propor-tion, per cent per region Number

Change13/14, % Number

Change 13/14, %

Kronoberg 40.5 348,893 5.5 860,429 5.0

Värmland 38.3 779,310 3.1 2,033,643 0.6

Stockholm 33.7 3,982,863 10.6 11,822,869 7.6

Norrbotten 31.8 697,275 3.4 2,191,442 1.8

Jönköping 28.6 427,371 4.2 1,495,437 4.7

Västra Götaland 28.5 2,585,630 8.2 9,069,647 5.8

Blekinge 24.8 221,518 5.1 891,878 3.9

Skåne 23.3 1,195,142 13.3 5,140,333 7.3

Västerbotten 22.0 348,843 -6.5 1,583,031 1.2

Jämtland 21.0 545,313 -0.8 2,602,768 6.7

Örebro 18.5 202,017 -9.2 1,094,653 -4.1

Kalmar 17.8 464,972 8.6 2,613,246 1.1

Östergötland 16.9 269,126 7.1 1,590,273 6.4

Uppsala 14.9 166,897 6.2 1,119,439 5.5

Södermanland 14.0 142,847 -5.3 1,017,612 -0.5

Västmanland 14.0 99,309 3.7 711,891 4.2

Dalarna 13.5 663,772 2.0 4,912,641 3.0

Halland 11.5 303,794 7.3 2,645,775 5.9

Gotland 11.0 97,749 -3.6 887,783 6.5

Västernorrland 11.0 121,817 5.2 1,111,501 5.4

Gävleborg 8.3 83,132 0.9 1,004,928 5.0

The entire country

24.4 13,747,590 6.7 56,401,219 5.0

*Commercially arranged rentals in private cottages and apartmentsSource: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden

INBOUND TOURISM

61

increased by 8.6 per cent. Of the ten largest regions, only Jämt-land reported a small reduction, by 0.8 per cent.


Foreign nights spent at hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and campsites, ten largest Swedish regions. 2014 (thousands), with percentage change 2013–2014

0

1 000

2 000

3 000

4 000

Krono-berg

Jön-köping

KalmarJämt-land

DalarnaNorr-botten

Värm-land

SkåneVästraGötaland

Stock-holm


+5.5+4.2+8.6-0.8+2.0+3.4+3.1

+13.3

+8.2

+10.6


Index for percentage increase in nights spent by foreign visitors at hotels,holiday villages, youth hostels, PCAs* and camping sites in Stockholm Countyin comparison with the rest of Sweden. Index 2008 = 100

95

100

105

110

115

120

125

130

2014201320122011201020092008

Stockholm County

Rest of Sweden


Almost half the increase since 2008 has been in Stockholm CountySince 2008, the number of nights spent by foreign visitors in Sweden has increased by nearly 15 per cent in total. In the re-gions outside the three metropolitan regions, the number of nights spent by foreign visitors increased by nearly 924,000 or just over 10 per cent. During the same period, the number of nights spent by foreign visitors in Stockholm County in-creased by 860,000 or just over 27 per cent. Consequently,

INBOUND TOURISM

62


Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden

Regional percentage share of total nights spentin Sweden from Norway and Germany in 2014

NORWAY GERMANY

17.2 %

34.7 % 15.1 %

11.6 %

12.4 %

> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %

close to half of the total increase in nights spent by foreign visitors in Sweden since 2008 was in Stockholm County. Of the increase in Stockholm County, non-European markets account for 70 per cent of the total increase since 2008.

Västra Götaland top choice of NorwegiansThe number of nights spent by foreign visitors varies regionally across Sweden. Norwegians, who accounted for 3.3 million or 24 per cent of all nights spent by foreign visitors in Sweden in 2014, and were thus the single largest foreign market, primarily spent nights in Västra Götaland, Värmland, Norrbotten and Jämtland. Of the four largest regions, Jämtland, with an increase of 37 per cent in the number of nights spent by Norwegians, has increased most since 2008. For Germany, the second largest foreign market, with nearly 2.8 million or just over 20 per cent of the nights spent by foreign visitors in

INBOUND TOURISM

63

Sweden, most nights spent were recorded in the metropolitan regions, in total 44 per cent. The region in Sweden in which the number of nights spent by Germans has increased most since 2008 is Norrbotten, by just over 50 per cent.

Most nights spent by Danes in Dalarna With 1.1 million nights spent, Danish visitors were the third largest foreign market in 2014. Dalarna had 18.6 per cent of all nights spent by Danes, followed by Skåne, Stockholm County and Västra Götaland. Since 2008, nights spent by Danes have fallen by 18 per cent in Sweden. A large part of this reduction was in Dalarna, where the number of nights spent fell by 18 per cent during the period. Nearly half of the total of 664,000 nights spent by visitors from the UK were recorded in Stock-holm County, followed by Västra Götaland, which had 16.1 per cent of the nights spent in 2014.



Regional percentage share of total nights spent in Sweden from Denmark and the UK 2014

14.5 %

18.6 %

13.8 %

17.3 %

49.6 %

DENMARK UK

16.1 %

> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %

INBOUND TOURISM

64

Since 2008, the number of nights spent by visitors from the UK has remained at the same level. Of the regions that recorded increases from the UK during this period, Norbotten showed the highest increase, with 13,500 more nights spent since 2008.

Good spread of nights spent by visitors from the Netherlands and FinlandIn addition to Stockholm County and Dalarna, the just over 610,000 nights spent by visitors from the Netherlands in 2014 were concentrated to a fairly high extent on southern and western Sweden. Since 2008, the number of nights spent by visitors from the Netherlands has decreased by nearly 15 per cent. The region with the highest fall was Dalarna, with 27,000 fewer nights spent. Of the regions that have recorded increases, Stockholm County has increased most, by 3,500 nights spent or 3.3 per cent, since 2008. During 2014, the



Regional percentage share of total nights spentin Sweden from the Netherlands and Finland 2014

18.2 % 38.5 %

NETHERLANDS FINLAND> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %

16.3 %

13.1 %

10.5 %

INBOUND TOURISM

65

most nights spent by visitors from Finland were spent in Stockholm County, followed by Norrbotten. Since 2008, the number of nights spent by visitors from Finland has increased by 70,000 or 15 per cent. Of the regions that have recorded increases, Stockholm County has increased most, by 41,400 nights spent or just over 25 per cent, since 2008.

High concentration on Stockholm County from the USA and SwitzerlandWith just over half a million nights spent in Sweden 2014, the USA was the seventh largest foreign market. The number of nights spent is mainly concentrated on Stockholm County, nearly 65 per cent. Since 2008, the number of nights spent by visitors from the USA has increased by just over 27 per cent. Just over 85 per cent of the increase since 2008 has been in Stockholm County. The number of nights spent by visitors



Regional percentage share of total nightsspent in Sweden from the USA and Switzerland 2014

64.9 % 40.0 %

11.9 % 13.3 %

USA Switzerland> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %

INBOUND TOURISM

66

from Switzerland in 2014 was also highest in Stockholm County, but the remainder of nights spent were widely dis-tributed across Sweden. Switzerland is one of the European markets that has grown fastest since 2008, with an increase of just over 60 per cent. The number of nights spent by visitors from Switzerland was more than those from France for the first time in 2014.

France and Italy are increasing in Norrbotten Of the just over 290,000 nights spent by visitors from France in 2014, just over half were spent in Stockholm County. Nights spent by visitors from France have grown very une-venly since 2008, increasing by a total of 7.3 per cent, which is lower than the total increase of approximately 15 per cent from abroad. Apart from Stockholm County and Västra Göta-land, Norbotten saw the highest increase in nights spent by

Regional percentage share of total nightsspent in Sweden from France and Italy 2014

53.3 % 57.6 %

16.1 % 10.8 %

FRANCE ITALY> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %



INBOUND TOURISM

67

visitors from France since 2008. The regional proportions of nights spent by visitors from Italy resemble those spent by French visitors. Just over 80 per cent of the nights spent by visitors from the two countries were in the three metropolitan regions and in Norrbotten. Total nights spent by visitors from Italy have fallen by just over 10 per cent since 2008. Nights spent in both Stockholm County and Västra Götaland have decreased, but they have increased dramatically in Norrbotten and Halland, by nearly 63 per cent and 128 per cent, respec-tively, since 2008.

Poland is increasing and Russia is decreasing With just over 225,000 nights spent in 2014, Poland was the eleventh largest foreign market. The proportion of nights spent by visitors from Poland varied greatly across Sweden. Since 2008, the number of nights spent by visitors from Po-

Regional percentage share of total nightsspent in Sweden from Poland and Russia 2014

29.5 %

14.4 % 10.2 %

54.6 %

11.1 %

13.3 %

POLAND RUSSIA> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %


Growth/Statistics Sweden

INBOUND TOURISM

68

land has increased by nearly 30 per cent. Apart from increases in Stockholm County and Norrbotten, there have been great increases in Östergötland and Värmland since 2008. Apart from Stockholm County and Skåne, the most nights spent by visitors from Russia have been in Jämtland. Since 2008, the Russian market has decreased by a total of 7.6 per cent. How-ever, in both Stockholm County and Jämtland, the number of nights spent has increased, by 3.8 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively, but in Skåne the number of nights spent has fall-en by 14,600 or just over 40 per cent since 2008.

China and India are growing fast China and India are the largest non-European markets after the USA, and both have grown dramatically, by just over 100 per cent and nearly 200 per cent, respectively, since 2008. Nights spent by visitors from China were more widely distrib-

Regional percentage share of total nightsspent in Sweden from China and India 2014

39.2 % 69.4 %

17.5 %

19.5 %

CHINA INDIA> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %



INBOUND TOURISM

69

uted across Sweden than those by visitors from other non-Eu-ropean markets and there were many in both Värmland and Östergötland, in addition to the three metropolitan regions. The regions that have grown fastest in relative figures are Norrbotten and Östergötland. In addition to Stockholm Coun-ty, the number of nights spent has increased most in Värmland and Västra Götaland since 2008. The nights spent by visitors from India were clearly concentrated on Stockholm County, with nearly 70 per cent of the total volume. The most addition-al nights spent were also recorded in Stockholm County, 81,000 or nearly 80 per cent of the total growth since 2008.

Four out of five long-distance visitors spend nights in the metropolitan regions With 2.5 million nights spent in 2014, the non-European markets accounted for just over 18 per cent of all nights spent

Regional percentage share of total nights spent in Sweden from allnon-European markets/countries and Nordic (excl. Sweden) 2014

54.3 % 13.2 %

15.3 % 27.0 %

NON-EUROPEAN NORDIC (excl. Sweden)> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %



INBOUND TOURISM

70

by visitors from abroad. This is an increase from 12 per cent since 2008. Just over 54 per cent of nights were spent in Stock-holm County, which, with Västra Götaland and Skåne, ac-counted for nearly 80 per cent of all non-European nights spent in 2014. Since 2008, nights spent by visitors from non-European markets have increased by just over one million or 75 per cent. Approximately 80 per cent of the increase since 2008 has been in the three metropolitan regions. The number of nights spent has also increased greatly in Värmland, Norr-botten and Östergötland. The majority of nights spent by visi-tors from our Nordic neighbouring countries are spent out-side the three metropolitan regions, but Västra Götaland is the single largest region, with a proportion of 27 per cent. During 2014, nights spent by visitors from our Nordic neigh-bouring countries accounted for just over 35 per cent of all nights spent by visitors from abroad, which is a reduction of 38 per cent since 2008.

A high proportion of foreign boat nights in guest harboursDuring 2014, the number of foreign boat nights (one boat, one night) in Swedish guest harbours was 192,000 or nearly 39 per cent of all boat nights. The proportion is higher than for other commercial forms of nights spent. The largest for-eign markets measured as a proportion of the total number of foreign boat nights were Norway with 32 per cent, Germany with 28.4 per cent and Denmark with just over 17 per cent. The number of nights spent by foreign visitors (one guest, one night) increased by 18.7 per cent in 2014. A total of nearly 500,000 nights spent were recorded in 2014, and all foreign markets apart from Norway and the rest of the world in-creased.

INBOUND TOURISM

71

Boat nights in Swedish guest harbours, private recreational craft per foreign market/country, 2014

Market/country NumberProportion in per cent 12/13, per cent

Norway 61,408 32.0 -23.6

Germany 54,475 28.4 14.6

Denmark 32,685 17.1 6.9

Finland 17,828 9.3 55.5

Netherlands 11,390 5.9 35.2

Rest of Europe 11,885 6.2 21.3

Rest of the world 1,981 1.0 -23.1

Total 191,652 100.0 0.5

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/RGS

Nights spent in Swedish guest harbours, private recreational craft per foreign market/country, 2014

Market/country NumberProportion in per cent 12/13, per cent

Norway 159,660 32.0 -9.7

Germany 141,634 28.4 35.4

Denmark 84,980 17.1 26.3

Finland 46,353 9.3 83.8

Netherlands 29,614 5.9 59.8

Rest of Europe 30,902 6.2 43.4

Rest of the world 5,150 1.0 -9.2

Total 498,293 100.0 18.7

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/RGS

INBOUND TOURISM

72

Foreign ownership of holiday homes is increasingDuring 2014, there were a total of 571,300 holiday homes in Sweden, of which 37,060 or 6.5 per cent had foreign owners. Compared with 2013, the number of holiday homes with for-eign owners increased by nearly 300 or 0.8 per cent. During 2014, the number of holiday homes with owners from Nor-way and from the rest of the world increased, while the num-ber with owners from Denmark, Germany and the Nether-lands decreased slightly.

IncreaseDecrease

Proportion of and change in number of boat nights/nights spent by foreign visitors in Swedish guest harbours, private recreational craft, between 2013 and 2014

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Statistics Sweden* Commercially arrangedprivate cottages and apartments

32.0 %

9.3 %

28.4 %

17.1 %

5.9 %

Rest of Europe 6.2 %

Rest of World 1.0 %


INBOUND TOURISM

73

Holiday homes with foreign owners in Sweden, 2014

Holiday homes with foreign owners from:

Number

Proportion of total number of holiday homes with foreign

owners in per cent13/14,

per cent

Denmark 11,451 30.9 -1.3

Norway 11,024 29.7 3.9

Germany 10,096 27.2 -0.4

Netherlands 1,423 3.8 -0.8

Other countries 3,064 8.3 3.0

Total 37,058 100.0 0.8

Source: SCB

The number of holiday homes with foreign owners has doubled since 2000Since 2000, the number of holiday homes in Sweden has in-creased by a total of 34,300, from 537,000 to 571,300, equiva-lent to 6.4 per cent. During the same period, the number of holiday homes with foreign owners has increased dramatical-ly, from 18,100 to 37,600, an increase of 104.5 per cent. The corresponding increase in the number of holiday homes with Swedish owners was 15,400, from 518,800 to 534,200, equiva-lent to 3 per cent. Of the foreign owners, a total of nearly 92 per cent came from Denmark, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.

Source: Statistics Sweden

Index for foreign-owned and Swedish-owned holiday homes in Sweden. Index 2000 = 100

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

141312111009080706050403020100

Foreign-owned holiday homesSwedish-owned holiday homes

The most holiday homes with foreign owners are in Västra GötalandHoliday homes with foreign owners are primarily in the re-gions in the southern and western parts of Sweden. During 2014, the number was highest in Västra Götaland, with 7,250

INBOUND TOURISM

74


Regional percentage share of the total numberof foreign-owned holiday homes in Sweden 2014

19.6 %

16.2 %

12.8 %

10.7 %

> 10 %4–10 %2–4 %< 2 %

or nearly 20 per cent of all holiday homes in Sweden with for-eign owners. Värmland also had a high proportion, with 16.2 per cent, as did Kronoberg, with 12.8 per cent and Skåne, with 10.7 per cent. Just over 40 per cent of holiday homes in the Kronoberg region had foreign owners. Other regions in which a large part of the holiday homes had foreign owners were Värmland, with nearly 24 per cent, Jönköping County, with 15 per cent, and Blekinge, with nearly 12 per cent. Stockholm County and Uppsala County were the regions in Sweden that had the lowest proportion of holiday homes with foreign owners of the total number of holiday homes, both with 0.3 per cent.

INBOUND TOURISM

75

The most foreign holiday home owners were from DenmarkDuring 2014, 11,450 holiday homes in Sweden had owners from Denmark. Ownership was concentrated in regions in southern and western Sweden. The proportions of Danish-owned holiday homes in Sweden were highest in Kronoberg, with 27.9 per cent, followed by Skåne, with 25.5 per cent, and Halland, with 10.9 per cent. Norwegians primarily owned holiday homes in the western and northern parts of Sweden. Of the total of 11,024 holiday homes with Norwegian owners, Västra Götaland had the highest proportion, with 40.2 per cent. This was followed by Värmland, with 32.2 per cent, and Jämtland, with 11.7 per cent.


Regional percentage share of the total number of foreign-ownedholiday homes from Denmark and Norway 2014

27.9 %10.9 %

25.5 %

40.2 %

32.2 %

11.7 %

DENMARK NORWAY> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %

INBOUND TOURISM

76

The most holiday home owners from Germany and the Netherlands were in southern and western SwedenThe number of holiday homes with German owners was 10,100 in 2014. Ownership was concentrated in regions in southern and western Sweden, with the highest proportions in Kalmar County, with 19.7 per cent, Västra Götaland, with 16 per cent, and Kronoberg, with 12.9 per cent. The 1,423 hol-iday homes in total with owners from the Netherlands were strongly concentrated in Värmland, where the proportion was 41.3 per cent, and Västra Götaland, with 9.8 per cent.


Regional percentage share of the total number of foreign-ownedholiday homes from Germany and the Netherlands 2014

11.2 %

12.9 %

4,8 %

41.3 %

19.7 %

5,6 %

16.0 %

GERMANY NETHERLANDS> 10 %8–10 %4–8 %2–4 %< 2 %

INBOUND TOURISM

77

Greater knowledge about foreign visitorsTo increase knowledge about inbound tourism in Sweden, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has con-ducted a national border survey of inbound visitors to Swe-den (the IBIS survey), since 2011. The survey is designed, among other things, to give answers to questions about total volumes, markets, target groups, purposes of travel, consump-tion, means of transport, etc.

The survey is based on current interviews with foreign leisure and business travellers when they leave Sweden and has been conducted at the major border crossings. The results reported are based on the number of visits to Sweden. The term 'visitor' or 'traveller' defines a person who has made a visit or trip to Sweden. A unique person resident in another country may make several visits or trips to Sweden and thus be a visitor to Sweden on several occasions in one year. For more facts about the border survey, see page 90.

19.9 million foreign visitors to Sweden in 2014During 2014, a total of 19.9 million visits were made to Swe-den by people resident abroad. Compared with 2013, there was an increase of 1.1 million or 6 per cent. Of the total of 19.9 million visitors, 16.8 million or 84 per cent were leisure travellers, and 3.1 million or 16 per cent were business travel-lers. The leisure travellers increased by 9 per cent, while the business travellers decreased by 8 per cent compared with 2013. The number of overnight visitors was 10.8 million or 54 per cent of all visitors, and 9.2 million or 46 per cent were same-day visitors. Overnight visits decreased by 3.5 per cent compared with 2013, while same-day visits increased by 20 per cent. Of the overnight visitors, 8.4 million or 79 per cent

Privatetravellers, 79 %Businesstravellers, 21 %

Total 10,8 million

Privatetravellers, 91 %Businesstravellers, 9 %

Total 9,2 million

Source: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth

Foreign visitors to Sweden in 2014, percentage share

OVERNIGHT VISITORS SAME-DAY VISITORS

INBOUND TOURISM

78

were leisure travellers, and 2.2 million or 21 per cent were business travellers. Of the same-day visitors, 8.5 million or 91 per cent were leisure travellers, and 890,000 or 9 per cent were business travellers.

Most overnight visitors were from Denmark Denmark was the single biggest market, with nearly two mil-lion overnight visitors. Denmark was followed by Norway, with 1.8 million, Finland, with 1.6 million, and Germany, with 1.3 million visitors. These four markets combined ac-counted for just over 60 per cent of all overnight visits to Swe-den in 2014. Of the same-day visitors in 2014, 3.8 million came from Norway, followed by 2.5 million from Finland and 1.6 million from Denmark. 83 per cent of all same-day visi-tors came from these three markets combined.

Russia

Poland

UK

Germany

Finland

Norway

Denmark

0 1 000 2 000 3 000 4 000

Estonia

Poland

Russia

Germany

Denmark

Finland

Norway

OVERNIGHT VISITORS

SAME-DAY VISITORS


Foreign overnight visitors from the seven largest foreignmarkets/countries, private and business travellers 2014 (thousands)

351

352

603

1 285

1 550

1 754

1 967

154

158

185

235

1 597

2 459 3 752

Air travel significant for foreign visitorsAir travel was the most common means of transport for for-eign overnight visitors. Of all overnight visitors in 2014, 39 per cent travelled by air, 31 per cent by ferry and 21 per cent by car. Of all same-day visitors, 58 per cent travelled by car and 29 per cent by ferry.

INBOUND TOURISM

79

Air, 3 %Ferry, 29 %Car, 58 %Train, 4 %Cruise ship, 6 %

Air, 39 %Ferry, 31 %Car, 21 %Train, 9 %


Methods of transport used by foreign visitors to Sweden, private and business travellers, 2014

SAME-DAY VISITORSOVERNIGHT VISITORS

Air travel the most common for business travellersOf the total of 2.2 million foreign business travellers spending the night, 69 per cent travelled by air when visiting Sweden in 2014, and 19 per cent travelled by ferry. For leisure travellers spending the night, ferry and air travel were the most com-mon means of transport. These means of transport accounted for 34 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, of all private travel with a night spent, while travel by car accounted for 24 per cent.




Methods of transport used by foreign overnight visitors to Sweden 2014

PRIVATE TRAVELLERS BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

Holiday travel and visiting friends and relatives were the most common purposes of travel to Sweden Holiday travel and visiting friends and relatives were the pre-dominant purposes of travelling to Sweden for all overnight visitors and for the overnight visitors who were private travel-lers. For the overnight visitors who were business travellers, single business trip was the most common purpose, followed by business meetings.

INBOUND TOURISM

80


Main purpose of travel for foreign overnight visitors to Sweden 2014, with percentage share of total overnight trips

0 20 40 60 80 100Total

Other business travelConferences, conventions etc.

Business meetingsIndividual business trips

BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

TotalOther private trips

Shopping tripsTrips to own holiday homesVisiting friends and relatives

Leisure and holiday tripsPRIVATE TRAVELLERS

3 %

6 %79 %

5 %29 %

35 %

21 %1 %

5 %6 %

9 %

Traditional activities dominateIn addition to visiting restaurants, bars, cafés, etc., more than half of the overnight visitors went shopping. Nearly one third went sightseeing and nearly one quarter indicated that they visited buildings, palaces and monuments. One fifth indicated that they had visited museums. These activities are followed by activities close to Nature such as walking in forests and hiking in the mountains and visiting national parks/nature information centres.


Most frequent activities for foreign overnightvisitors to Sweden, private and business travellers, 2014

0 20 40 60 80

Visited National Park

Forest/mountain walks

Museums

Visiting buildings,castles and monuments

Sightseeing

Shopping

Restaurants etc.

Does not add up to100% as more than oneanswer was possible.

15 %

11 %

21 %

23 %

33 %

52 %

65 %

INBOUND TOURISM

81

0 20 40 60 80 100

OtherRented acc.

Friends & rel.Hotels

BUSINESS TRAVELLERSOther

Youth hostelsRented acc.

CampsitesOwn homes

HotelsFriends & rel.

PRIVATE TRAVELLERS

Does not add up to100% as more than oneanswer was possible.


Foreign overnight visitors to Sweden – types of accommodation, 2014

4 %3 %

5 %92 %

5 %4 %

7 %10 %

12 %36 %

37 %

Leisure travellers often stay with friends and relatives while business travellers use commercial accommodationNearly half of leisure travellers indicated that they stayed with friends and relatives or in their own homes, i.e. in non-com-mercial types of accommodation, during their stays in Swe-den. Business travellers predominantly stayed at hotels (92 per cent of all business travellers), while 5 per cent replied that they stayed with friends and relatives.

Many visitors stayed in one of the metropolitan regions When asked where they stayed in Sweden, visitors could indi-cate several regions. 85 per cent of all 19.9 million foreign vis-itors indicated that they visited one of the three metropolitan regions during their trip, and 31 per cent indicated that they visited one of the regions outside the metropolitan regions. Western Sweden was the most visited region by same-day vis-itors, with 33 per cent or a total of 3 million. For overnight visitors, Stockholm County was the most visited region, with 46 per cent or nearly 5 million visitors travelling there.

INBOUND TOURISM

82


Foreign visitors to Sweden – regions visited (national areas), 2014

SAME-DAY VISITORSOVERNIGHT VISITORS

Does not add up to 100% asmore than one answer was possible.

46 %

> 40 %30–40 %20–30 %10–20 %< 10 %

Regionsvisited, %

Over half of business travellers visited Stockholm CountyOf all foreign business travellers, a total of 3.1 million, 50 per cent visited Stockholm County and 21 per cent visited west-ern Sweden. For leisure travellers, in total 16.9 million, Stock-holm County was also the region that received the most visi-tors, 34 per cent, followed by western Sweden, with 26 per cent, and South Sweden, with 23 per cent.

INBOUND TOURISM

83

Source: Swedish Agency forEconomic and Regional Growth

Foreign overnight visitors to Sweden – regions visited (national areas) 2014

PRIVATE TRAVELLERS BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

Does not add up to 100% asmore than one answer was possible.

> 40 %30–40 %20–30 %10–20 %< 10 %

Regionsvisited, %

50 %

INBOUND TOURISM

84

International meetings

Number of international meetings per city/country, 2014

City Number of meetings

Country Number of meetings

1 Paris 214 1 USA 831

2 Vienna 202 2 Germany 659

3 Madrid 200 3 Spain 578

4 Berlin 193 4 United Kingdom 543

5 Barcelona 182 5 France 533

6 London 166 6 Italy 452

7 Singapore 142 7 Japan 337

8 Amsterdam 133 8 China 332

9 Istanbul 130 9 Netherlands 307

10 Prague 118 10 Brazil 291

11 Brussels 112 11 Austria 287

12 Lisbon 109 12 Canada 265

13 Copenhagen 105 13 Australia 260

14 Beijing 104 14 Sweden 238

15 Seoul 99 15 Portugal 229

16 Hong Kong 98 16 Switzerland 226

17 Budapest 97 17 Republic of Korea 222

Rome 97 18 Argentina 191

19 Stockholm 95 19 Turkey 190

20 Taipei 92 20 Belgium 187

23 Helsinki 84 22 Denmark 164

48 Oslo 52 23 Finland 162

54 Gothenburg 47 36 Norway 114

93 Uppsala 26

141 Lund 17

152 Malmö 16

318 Umeå & Linköping

6

Source: ICCA

Stockholm ranked nineteenth in the world in 2014Stockholm was ranked nineteenth among the world's major conference cities in 2014, with 95 international meetings.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

85

Gothenburg was ranked 54th with 47 meetings, and Uppsala 93rd with 26 meetings. Further down the rankings were Lund at 141st, Malmö at 152nd, and Umeå and Linköping, both at 318th place. Copenhagen was the highest ranked Nordic city, in 13th place with 105 international meetings.

Sweden was ranked 14th for world meeting cities in 2014A total of 238 meetings were held in Sweden in 2014, ranking Sweden at 14th worldwide. Of Sweden’s neighbouring coun-tries, Denmark was ranked 22nd, Finland ranked 23rd and Norway ranked 36th. The list was topped by the USA, with 831 international meetings, followed by Germany, with 659.

Sweden hosted the most meetings in the Nordic region During the period from 2003 to 2014, Sweden was the Nordic country (excl. Iceland) that hosted the most international meetings, and Sweden also had a higher increase in the num-ber of conference held than the other Nordic countries. The number of meetings in Sweden increased by 90, or 61 per cent, during this period. Of the other Nordic countries, Den-mark increased by 56 per cent, Finland by 33 per cent and Norway by just over 15 per cent between 2003 and 2014.

SwedenDenmark

FinlandNorway

Source: ICCA

Number of international meetings in the Nordic region

0

50

100

150

200

250

141312111009080706050403

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

86

What is tourism?According to the United Nations and the internationally ac-cepted definition, “Tourism comprises the activities of per-sons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual en-vironment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”. Consequently, the definition comprises in principle all activities and consumption directly linked to travel, including business travel.

By definition, it is the consumer and not what is produced that determines what is tourism. This should be seen in the light of the usual method of reporting the effects of various sectors, industries or trades on the economy, in which the ef-fects are measured from the production side. The economy arising as a result of travel and tourism is distributed over a wide range of different sectors. However, in principle there is just one sector in which 100 per cent of the value is attributa-ble to travel and tourism, and that is the travel agency and tour operator sector. For the same reasons, only around half of the activities in the hotel and restaurant sector are attribut-able to tourism, since the remaining value, in particular at res-taurants, arises as a result of consumption by the local popula-tion and is therefore, by definition, not tourism.

Consistency in terminologyConsistency in terminology is critical for a successful infor-mation culture and the development of knowledge. It is diffi-cult to develop and work with tourism statistics and statistics-based information if the terms and definitions used are not distinctive and established among those who both produce and use the information. The World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, has worked with several international organisations

Definitions and sources

DEFINITIONS AND SOURCES

87

to prepare recommendations for the terms used in tourism statistics. These recommendations can be found in “Interna-tional Recommendations on Tourism Statistics 2008", which can be downloaded from http://statistics.unwto.org/content/irts-2008. A Swedish adaptation of these recommendations has been published by the Agency in “Turismens begreppsny-ckel” which can be downloaded from www.tillvaxtverket.se/publikationer. Some of the basic tourism terms and forms of tourism and how they are defined are described below.

Forms of tourismWhen referring to travel that crosses national borders, tour-ism is divided into three basic forms. Domestic tourism, in-bound tourism and outbound tourism. “Country” in this defi-nition may be replaced by region, municipality or any other administrative area.

In this publication information with reference to the first two basic forms of tourism is reported separately, but also as the sum of domestic and inbound volumes in Sweden under the heading “Tourism in Sweden”, also referred to as “Internal tourism”.

Domestic tourismDomestic tourism comprises the activities of a resident visitor within the country of reference, either as part of a domestic tourism trip or part of an outbound tourism trip.

Inbound tourismInbound tourism comprises the activities of a non-resident visitor within the country of reference on an inbound tourism trip

The chapter "International tourism" reports the volumes in terms of numbers of trips abroad with a least one night spent or the number of international arrivals.

Sources for Tourism in Sweden 2014Below are brief descriptions of the sources, studies and statis-tics used in Tourism in Sweden.

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is based in Madrid. UNWTO collects, analyses and publishes


88

data on the growth of tourism at the global level. UNWTO has also worked with several international organisations to prepare recommendations for the terms and definitions used in tourism statistics.

Tourism Satellite AccountsSweden has adopted the United Nations internationally ac-cepted definition of tourism. Since 2000, tourism's effects on the economy, exports and employment are measured in Swe-den using Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA), which aggregate the share of consumption derived from tourism within vari-ous industries into the national accounts. TSA measures the value of the direct consumption of Swedish goods and servic-es by both domestic and foreign travellers. The Tourism Satel-lite Account (TSA) method is an internationally accepted method developed by the World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO), a United Nations body, in cooperation with the OECD and industry organisations. In Sweden, these accounts are prepared by the National Accounts division at Statistics Sweden (SCB) on behalf of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. In the same way as with other national accounts, the time series are revised each year, and conse-quently previous time series are not comparable with the most recently published data.

Revision of the Tourism Satellite Accounts The 2014 Tourism Satellite Accounts are based on a previously published but now fully revised time series of data for the peri-od 2008 to 2013. The revision has resulted in an average reduc-tion in the values reported previously of approximately 6 per

Previous time series published in 2014, with data for 2008 to 2013Revised time series published in 2015, with new data for 2008 to 2014


Growth in total tourism consumption in Sweden (SEK billion, current prices)

100

140

180

220

260

300

141312111009080706050403020100


89

cent per annum during the period. The figure illustrates how the revision has affected the growth in total tourism consump-tion over time.

The revision was based on a new EU Regulation as a result of the European System of Accounts (ESA) 2010 revision, which governs the production of national accounts data in the EU. The new Regulation was adopted by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament in May 2013 and published in autumn 2014.

Another decisive factor is that Statistics Sweden (SCB) has re-vised previously published time series for travel expenditure which are an important source when calculating the export value of tourism. The intention was to enhance the quality of the calculations of Sweden's balance of payments, and this has resulted in changes in the travel item, i.e. the travel expendi-ture item. In the new calculations, it has been possible to identify and remove elements that do not belong to the travel item. Consequently, the absolute values for both imports (Swedish consumption on travel abroad) and exports (foreign consumption on travel to Sweden) have been affected and written down.

Travel expenditure statistics in the balance of paymentsStatistics Sweden (SCB) produces quarterly statistics on travel expenditure growth, on behalf of the Riksbank, as part of the statistics on the balance of payments. The travel expenditure statistics show purchases and sales of currency. Purchases of Swedish currency generate an export value and purchases of foreign currency generate an import value. Swedes' expendi-ture on travel abroad is therefore an import, and foreign visi-tors' expenditure in Sweden is an export. Statistics Sweden (SCB) has recently revised the time series for travel expendi-ture. See above.

Accommodation statisticsAccommodation statistics are part of Sweden's official statis-tics and are produced by Statistics Sweden (SCB) on behalf of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. The statistics include hotels, holiday villages, youth hostels, camp-


90

ing sites and commercially arranged rentals in private cottag-es and apartments (PCAs). They include the numbers of nights spent (guest nights), nationalities of guests, numbers of rooms sold, average room revenue and occupancy over time and for different parts of Sweden. Just over 4,000 establish-ments supply data every month. The statistics are reported back to those who supply the data. In addition, many other parties rely on the statistics to provide them with good deci-sion guidance data. Decision makers, government agencies, sole proprietors, tourism organisations, tourism consultants and investigating bodies use the statistics for their own analy-ses. On behalf of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Re-gional Growth, SCB publishes parts of the accommodation statistics in a statistics database that is freely available online. Data at municipality level or for other special groupings can be ordered directly from SCB, subject to confidentiality provi-sions.

National border survey (IBIS)The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth be-gan the IBIS survey of inbound visitors to Sweden in 2011. One purpose of the survey is to obtain answers to questions about foreign visitors' purposes of travel, consumption, means of transport and markets and target groups. The objective is for the information gathered about foreign visitors' travel to and in Sweden to contribute to more effective product devel-opment and marketing of Sweden as a destination. The survey is based on approximately 20,000 personal interviews per an-num with foreign leisure and business travellers when they leave Sweden. The results reported are based on the number of visits to Sweden. The term 'visitor' or 'traveller' defines a person who has made a visit or trip to Sweden. A unique indi-vidual resident in another country may make several visits or trips to Sweden and thus be a visitor to Sweden on several oc-casions in one year. The survey is conducted on behalf of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth by the market research company Markör Marknad och Kommunika-tion AB. This publication reports preliminary data and future time series may therefore be revised. Additional results and more information about the survey are available in the most recently published report, “IBIS 2014” (Rapport 0188, in


91

Swedish only), which can be downloaded or ordered from the website of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

Guest harbour statisticsThe guest harbour statistics are collected by the Swedish na-tional guest harbour association (Riksföreningen Gästhamnar Sverige). The statistics, which show boat nights (one boat, one night) and nights spent (one guest, one night) distributed by region and the home country of the guest, are collected in classified guest harbours along the coast of Sweden and are reported annually.

Statistics on holiday homesStatistics Sweden (SCB) compiles statistics on the ownership of holiday homes in Sweden. The statistics contain informa-tion on the nationality of owners and where the holiday homes are located.

ICCA statisticsThe International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) publishes annual international statistics on meetings that are held regularly and have over 50 delegates.

Source Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth

and data from:World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)National Accounts at SCB Sveriges Riksbank/SCBRiksföreningen Gästhamnar Sverige (RGS)Statistics Sweden (SCB)International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)

You are welcome to quote extracts from this publica-tion, but please remember to acknowledge the source.


INFO

063

5 PR

OD

UC

TIO

N: O

RDFÖ

RRÅ

DET

.

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth works to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish businesses.

TillväxtverketSwedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Tel. +46 (0)8-681 91 00www.tillvaxtverket.se

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth provides knowledge about the development of tourism in Sweden

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, is the authority responsible for tourism industry issues, and develops enterprise policies for the promotion of tourism initiatives and entrepreneurship. The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth is also responsible for producing and disseminating knowledge about the development of tourism in Sweden and has specific responsibility for the accommodation statistics that are included in Sweden's official statistics.

More information about the develop-mentof tourism in Sweden can be found on the Agency’s website www.tillvaxtverket.se under English pages and Tourism industry issues and statistics, where you can also download this publication.

Facts & statistics

Documents