The tourist season is rapidly approaching and interest in Sweden has never been greater among foreign visitors.

”The Swedish krona exchange rate guarantees good tourism,” says Patrick Höijer, Head of Sweden at Nets.

Foreign tourists spent 7.3 percent more in 2018 than the year before. According to Nets, the number of foreign guest nights has increased for several years in a row and contributed to revenues of several hundred billion kronor. The summer of 2019 is also expected to be a shopping festival, with the peak predicted to be reached in the second half of the summer. 

”"We see that it is a continued positive trend. June to August are the best months, along with December," says Patrick Höijer, Sweden Manager at Nets.

Through card data from payment terminals, the payment solutions company Nets can read the turnover from foreign cards within a number of different categories within commerce. 

The measurement is being carried out for the second year in a row and shows that the increase is mainly occurring in the major cities.

”It is important for retailers to understand the trends and these tourist groups, we get a lot of questions about this,” says Patrick Höijer.

Norwegians are the tourist group that spends the most in Sweden overall. They have strong purchasing power in grocery stores, but also spend the most nights in Sweden. The average purchase for Norwegians last year was 472 kronor. 

Americans are in second place, having increased their turnover by 10 percent compared to the previous year. They are the largest group in terms of turnover in hotels and tourist attractions.

Net's survey does not include examining the impact of the Swedish krona exchange rate, but Patrick Höijer believes it plays a role. 

”"Now I'm speculating a bit, but the strength of the dollar for Americans and the euro for Germans clearly means that their purchasing power is going up just because of that."”

And he continues to speculate.

”"Compared to the Danish krone, it is at an all-time high now and even the Finns, who are a large tourist group, will have fantastic conditions to shop in Sweden. I think the Swedish krone exchange rate benefits tourism in Sweden quite significantly."’ 

Although Norwegians lead the total turnover, the British are the group that has increased their consumption the most in Sweden, by a whopping 29 percent, compared to the previous year. 

The British spread their spending evenly but also contribute strongly to the hotel and tourism industry. 

However, the highest average amounts are accounted for by the Chinese, who had an average receipt of 1722 kronor and are strong in retail. They have a different spending pattern than the other tourist groups, according to Patrick Höijer.

”"They buy more expensive things, more luxury products. When the Chinese tourist does shop, they spend four to five times more than the Norwegian or German," he says.

Source: di.se