The Travel Report is a new market report from the travel and tourism industry where we present statistics from the past year, based on the travel companies' annual reports. We also take the pace of the industry with a forecast for the current year by looking at the statistics that our member companies continuously register with us.
The travel report is published by the Swedish Travel Industry and will be published every year in November.
Market facts for the travel industry 2023
Market Facts for the Travel Industry is a compilation of the industry's results, employment and operating companies in 2023. It is based on companies' annual reports, which means there is a certain lag in data. The compilation shows that the industry is now back to the same levels in both results and employment as in 2019, i.e. before the pandemic.
Sales growth in 2023
In the 2022 compilation, the effects of the corona pandemic were still noticeable in the first quarter. In addition, some companies have broken financial years. Therefore, some of the 2022 figures also include some data from 2021, when the pandemic's impact on travel was still significant. In the 2023 data, we can see that the pandemic's impact on travel sales has now completely subsided. Overall, Swedish travel sales increased sharply, from SEK 38 billion to SEK 54 billion, which corresponds to an increase of 43 percent. This growth is relatively evenly distributed between tour operators and travel agencies: tour operators' sales increased by 44 percent, while travel agencies increased their sales by 40 percent.
Sales have now recovered and are approaching pre-pandemic levels, which amounted to SEK 58 billion in 2019.
Detailed sales statistics
Travel agencies: Sales increased by SEK 9 billion from 2022 to 2023, giving total sales of SEK 33 billion. Sales of private travel increased by 36 percent, while business travel increased by 44 percent. Private travel thus accounted for SEK 17.5 billion, and business travel for SEK 15.5 billion in 2023. Of the total travel agency sales in Sweden, SRF members account for 77 percent. Tour operators: Sales increased by SEK 6.9 billion in 2023, which means total sales of almost SEK 23 billion. Here, SRF members accounted for 86 percent of total sales.
Results for the year
This year's results for the travel industry show a marked improvement compared to previous years. Tour operators are also doing well, although results are still affected by the 2019 bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, where the Nordic market has been hit by large write-downs.
Net sales
Net turnover for travel agencies and tour operators has increased sharply since the bottom year of 2021. For travel agencies, net turnover amounted to SEK 16.9 billion and for tour operators, SEK 45 billion.
Travel companies in Sweden 2023
Travel agencies At the end of 2023, there were a total of 221 Swedish travel agencies, including both traditional and online operators. These agencies primarily mediate travel and tourism services from third parties, such as airlines, hotels and tour operators. Some also organize their own package tours as well as group and conference trips for companies and the private market.
Of the 221 companies, approximately 50 specialize in business travel, while another 50 offer both business and private travel. The remaining 125 are focused on private travel. The industry has shown a slight increase in the number of players compared to the previous year, and offers a variety of services for the Swedish market.
The members of the Swedish Travel Industry Association together account for approximately 77 percent of total sales in the travel agency industry.
Tour operators There are around 430 companies operating as tour operators in Sweden. A smaller proportion focus on corporate travel and events, while the majority are focused on package holidays for consumers. In addition to these, there are a large number of individual companies and associations that arrange a limited number of trips per year, which are not included in the compilation. Coach tour operators are also not included. The members of the Swedish Travel Industry Association together account for around 86 percent of total sales in the tour operator industry.
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