The Swedish outbound market

Sweden is in the second tier of the world’s top markets in terms of spend on international travel, with the WTO ranking it as 17^th by this measure.  In recent years there has been a trend of growth in outbound travel, of which holidays are the biggest element, boosted by favourable economic conditions and factors such as low-cost flight launches.  Other significant features of Swedish outbound travel are many trips to visit friends and relatives and lots of day / short stay travel to neighbouring countries.  

Holiday preferences

The most popular type of outbound holiday for Swedes is a beach holiday, followed by cities and touring holidays.  Getting away from normal life and finding peace and relaxation are key reasons for taking a holiday.  There has been growth in short holidays, facilitated by more low-cost flights and these are popular for quick getaways, visiting friends and relatives and shopping.  

Scotland’s visitors

Amongst Scotland’s international markets, Sweden is ranked 10^th in terms of total spend.  Swedes are attracted by Scotland’s dramatic scenery and interested in its distinctive history, heritage and traditions. They want to interact with the Scots when they are here, experiencing the pubs, whisky, and traditional music and culture.

The vast majority of Swedish travel to Scotland is by plane. VisitScotland has worked in tandem with operators to capitalise on the boom in direct access from the Swedish market in recent years and to exploit the promotional opportunities of new route launches. Promotional activity tends to be concentrated in the south of the country in the main cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.

Sweden has the second largest number of registered golfers in Europe (after the UK) and is the largest European golf market for Scotland.  VisitScotland runs a dedicated campaign and website for the Swedish golf market.  

Statistics from the International Passenger Survey on our Swedish visitors are available to download. Swedish visitor statistics PDF document 22kb

To find out about our marketing activities in Sweden and how you can become involved, please visit our Marketing Opportunities section.

Useful links:

A profile of the Swedish market is also available from VisitBritain.