When foreign travelers search online about Sweden, it is activities such as skiing, the Northern Lights, cruises and hiking that they are most curious about.
With 5.8 million searches on Google and Chinese Baidu last year, the number of searches about Sweden increased twice as fast as for the rest of Europe, according to a survey commissioned by Visit Sweden.
Germans are the ones who search for the most information before their trip, accounting for almost a million searches. Americans, Danes and Brits are also diligent at the keyboard.
New and exciting
General searches for terms such as "tourism", "travel" and "accommodation" are still the most common, which suggests that there are large groups of travelers who do not yet know Sweden that well.
– Travel has increased overall and there is a craving for new travel destinations and Sweden's is considered a bit new, exciting and different, says Ewa Lagerqvist, CEO of Visit Sweden, which markets the destination Sweden internationally.
All year round
When it comes to tips for things to do in Sweden, ”skiing” and ”northern lights” were the most common search terms followed by ”cruises,” ”hiking,” ”fishing,” and ”beaches.” Compared to other countries in the survey, Sweden is the only country to have two strong peaks in search volume – January and July.
– Sweden has become more and more of a year-round destination, which is pleasing. The fact that skiing and the Northern Lights top the list is not so bad because we would like people to find ”their” Sweden regardless of the season, says Ewa Lagerqvist.
Most searches are still made in traditional tourist countries such as Italy, Greece and Croatia, but Sweden ranks among the 20 most interesting tourist countries in Europe.
Facts: Most common search terms 2018
1. Skiing: 155,900 searches
2. Northern Lights: 131,800 searches
3. Cruises: 97,700 searches
4. Hiking: 85,100 searches
5. Fishing: 82,600 searches
6. Beaches: 51,100 searches
7. Family vacation: 48,100 searches
8. Music Events: 47,000 searches
9. Castles and fortresses: 46,600 searches
10. Water park: 45,000 searches
Source: Visit Sweden, TT
