During the first four weeks of September, the number of hotel rooms sold was at the same level compared to the same period in 2022.

– After strong demand for hotel rooms during the summer, the growth rate for hotel rooms decreased slightly during September. However, the fact that the number of hotel rooms sold for September is at the same level as in 2022 is pleasing. Private demand in the hotel market still shows resilience to high inflation and rising interest rates. September's figures indicate a strong underlying demand for Swedish hospitality services, says Thomas Jakobsson, Chief Economist at Visita.

– Although demand was good during the summer and September, there is great economic uncertainty ahead of the autumn and winter. The cost situation continues to pressure the profitability of many hotels. The purchase prices of food have skyrocketed and unreasonably high rents have hit companies. In addition, the government has increased employer contributions for young people between 19 and 23 years of age and from 1 January 2024 it will be increased for 15-18 year olds. In addition, the alcohol tax has been increased during the year and will be increased further from 1 January, placing an additional burden on companies by increasing the costs of sick pay and making it more difficult to recruit workers from other countries, continues Thomas Jakobsson.

– It is also worrying that the government did not increase the allocation to Visit Sweden in its budget. In a situation where the media image of Sweden in the world has deteriorated, increasing the allocation to Visit Sweden would have been a simple and effective way to promote Swedish interests and promote Swedish tourism, concludes Thomas Jakobsson.

The reason for presenting data for 1-28 of each month is to improve comparability by avoiding day-of-week effects on an entire month, as demand naturally fluctuates over the week and a month extends over more than four weeks.

According to the press release.