7 % more overnight stays by foreign visitors in May–July 2024 than in 2023, and 2 % more than in 2019
Sweden's official overnight statistics for July have now been published by Tillväxtverket, meaning the summer months of May-July can be summarised and compared with previous years. At the same time, the summer season is far from over, and businesses in the tourism industry are noting strong interest from foreign tourists well into August.
The number of overnight stays by foreign visitors in Sweden during May–July 2024 is 7 % higher this year than in the same period in 2023 (7 701 397 compared with 7 225 382). And compared with 2019 (the last comparable year without the effects of the pandemic), the figure is 2 % higher, as 7 561 195 overnight stays by foreign visitors were recorded in May–July 2019.
At the same time, the number of guest nights spent by Swedes during May–July 2024 fell by –2.81 % compared with the same period in 2023. Compared with the same period in 2019, the increase is 0.1%. Between May and July 2024, 18,435,664 Swedish guest nights were recorded; during the same period in 2023, 18,435,664 were recorded, and during the same period in 2019, there were 18,423,348 Swedish guest nights.
However, the increase in foreign guest nights between May and July in 2023 and 2024 does not offset the decrease in Swedish guest nights, which means that the total number of guest nights in Sweden during May–July 2024 will fall by –0.22 % compared with the same period in 2023. During May–June 2024, 26,137,061 overnight stays were recorded; in the same period in 2023: 26,193,908 overnight stays.
If we compare the total number of guest nights in May–July 2024 with the same period in 2019 – the year before the pandemic – there were 0.59 % more guest nights this summer. A total of 26,137,061 guest nights were recorded in May–June 2024, compared with 25,984,543 guest nights in the same period in 2019.
On an annual basis, around 75 % of those visiting Sweden as tourists are Swedish, and around 25 % are from other countries.
Tourism to and in Sweden continues to recover after the pandemic, so it's gratifying to see that Sweden is on the right track, although I had hoped to see a slightly larger increase in overnight stays, but the summer isn't over yet and sentiments from the visitor industry are positive, says Susanne Andersson, CEO of Visit Sweden, the state's marketing company for Sweden as a destination.
– At the same time, I am concerned that Sweden's overnight stays are not growing at the same rate as our Nordic neighbours Denmark and Norway, and this is something we need to monitor and see what measures need to be taken so that Sweden does not fall behind in growth, continues Susanne Andersson.
Development in JComparison with other Nordic countries
Although forecasts for the total number of overnight stays for 2024 look positive, Sweden is not performing as well as its Nordic neighbours Denmark and Norway, something Visit Sweden noted at the beginning of the summer:
Tourism to Europe is recovering the fastest after the pandemic, but Sweden is lagging behind. The Nordic overnight stays in the graphs below are compared without privately rented cottages and apartments to make the statistics comparable between the countries. The figures are preliminary.
Denmark saw the strongest growth in foreign guest nights between January and June 2024 compared with 2019, with an increase of 20 %, followed by Norway, where foreign guest nights rose by 9 %. In Sweden, foreign guest nights rose by 6 % during the same period.
Overnight stays by foreign visitors in the Nordic region (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) increased between January and June 2024 compared with 2019, but the increase was greatest in Denmark. As a result, Denmark has increased its ”market share” of international overnight stays from 27 % to 31 %.
Then tourism to Sweden from abroad is expected to be back at 2019annual level
Already in 2022, the number of overnight stays in Sweden by Swedes, Danes, Dutch and Americans was back to 2019 levels, and in 2023, the number of overnight stays by Germans, Finns and French returned.
According to Oxford Economics' forecast for Sweden, overnight stays from Norwegians and Britons are expected to return to 2019 levels by 2025. It will not be until 2026 that the number of overnight stays for Chinese visitors returns to 2019 levels, and by 2028 the overnight stay level for Indian visitors is projected to reach back to 2019 levels.
Overtourism in Sweden?
The issue of overtourism has been a hot topic this summer. At the same time, the latest overnight statistics for the first three summer months show that many destinations in Sweden may have actually noted slightly fewer tourists this year than last year.
– Possibly fewer tourists are making more overnight stays, as the guest night statistics for foreign visitors are increasing, while available passenger statistics for air and ferry show a negative development, says Visit Sweden's CEO Susanne Andersson.
Availability of Sweden is important for tourism's potential for growth
Passenger numbers for international flights In 2023, it was at about the same level as in 2011, according to fresh statistics from the Swedish Transport Agency released in mid-summer (and this statistic also includes Swedish passengers on charter trips abroad). Figures for 2024 will be released by the Swedish Transport Agency in 2025.
According to a comparison in Airports Council International's (ACI) latest European Airport Connectivity Report, Sweden has the poorest recovery in air connectivity when Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are compared, which could be a contributing factor to weaker growth in overnight stays in Sweden.
- Rank 14: Denmark -13%, June 2023 compared with June 2019
- Rank 15: Norway -13%, June 2023 compared with June 2019
- Rank 30: Sweden – 31%, June 2023 compared with June 2019
In 2023, the number of passengers on international ferry services was 18% fewer than in 2019, but 1 % more than in 2022, according to Trafikanalys (TRAFA), the government agency responsible for traffic and transport statistics.
In 2023, 22 million passengers travelled between a foreign port and Sweden; in 2019, the figure was 30.5 million international passengers. The number of passenger ferries calling at ports from abroad in 2023 was 6 % fewer than in 2022 and 17 % fewer than in 2019.
What happened to the travel trend coolcation??
There is still no statistical data to confirm that ”heat escape” is a driver for tourists in the ”coolcation” travel trend that gained attention this summer.
However, international interest in the concept of ”coolcation” itself continues to grow, according to Google metrics. More and more people are searching for information about the concept.
The travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller was probably the first to use the term in December 2023 and the first to note the ”coolcationing trend”, as one of 20 travel trends. https://www.cntraveler.com/story/travel-trends-2024
Visit Sweden's mission is to attract tourists to Sweden. As part of Visit Sweden's sustainability initiatives, and beyond Visit Sweden's chosen target audience for marketing Sweden – which is briefly people who are, among other things, more interested in sustainability and make more sustainable choices in their daily lives than others (confirmed in Visit Sweden's latest target audience survey) – Visit Sweden works clearly to guide those interested in Sweden towards more sustainable choices regarding seasons, places, activities, and transport, etc., by directing them there and highlighting such examples.
Visit Sweden also works on guiding Swedish companies on how they can work with and communicate around sustainability, so that it becomes clear for the target audiences interested in Sweden.
Sweden, one of the world's most sustainable travel destinations
Sweden is today one of the world's most sustainable travel destinations and the most sustainable in Europe, according to several independent surveys. This includes Euromonitor International's report for 2023, where Sweden lands at the top. https://schengen.news/european-countries-occupy-19-of-world-sustainable-travel-index-2023s-top-20-spots/
- Sweden
- Finland
- Austria
- Estonia
- Norge
And according to the European Travel Commission, ETC, and MMGY/TCI Research, Sweden is the country perceived as the most sustainable travel destination in Europe:
More about overnight stays
Guest nights are the only measure used to quantify the number of tourists in Sweden. It does not reveal how many people visit Sweden, but only how many nights visitors stay overnight. One person can have one or many overnight stays. The statistics cover hotels, hostels, campsites, cottage villages, and commercially let private cottages and apartments with at least five rooms or nine beds. Accommodation with fewer beds, boat accommodation, and private rentals are not included.
The proportion of overnight stays with no nationality specified has been included as foreign overnight stays in the compilation above, as it is known that data providers have recorded all foreign guests as ”unknown nationality” due to system development.
Reporting of overnight guest data from different types of accommodation to Statistics Sweden (SCB), on which Business Sweden bases its statistics, can sometimes be delayed. Therefore, Business Sweden makes ongoing corrections to the data.
Guest night data, Sweden
Guest night data, Norway (data published 2 October, includes August)
Guest night data, Denmark (data published 10 September
Guest night data, Finland (published 28 August and August figures published 26 September)
