Tourism continues to grow in Sweden.
There were a total of 65 million guest nights in 2018, an increase of three percent compared to the previous year. Guest nights from the Nordic neighboring countries are increasing again and the trend of more long-distance visitors is strengthening.
Foreign guest nights at Swedish hotels, hostels, campsites and cottages increased by seven percent, while Swedish guest nights increased by one percent. In total, there were 1.8 million more guest nights in 2018 compared to the previous year. This is shown by accommodation statistics that measure the number of guest nights at commercial accommodation facilities in Sweden.
The majority of all guest nights were accounted for by Swedish visitors, almost 48 million or 73 percent of the total number of guest nights. The number of foreign guest nights reached 17.4 million.
After a slight decline, visits from neighboring Nordic countries are increasing again. Guest nights from the largest foreign market, Norway, increased by six percent and totaled 3.5 million. Guest nights from the third largest market, Denmark, increased by a full 17 percent compared to 2017.
The trend of more guest nights from long-distance markets strengthened in 2018. The number of guest nights from the USA increased by nine percent, which is a slowdown compared to 2017. Despite this, the USA is now Sweden's fourth largest foreign market.
Värmland County was the county with the largest relative increase in reported guest nights at commercial accommodation facilities in 2018. Compared to last year, guest nights increased by 13 percent, with approximately equal increases for both Swedish and foreign guest nights. The increase in foreign guest nights was driven by more visitors from Norway, which increased by nine percent in Värmland in 2018.
"Tourism creates new jobs and strengthens the attractiveness of all parts of the country. Accommodation statistics provide companies and regions with important information about the development of tourism and show, for example, that there is strong growth potential in several foreign markets such as Norway and Denmark," says Christina Henryson, head of department at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.
