Swedish retail revenue from shopping by foreign tourists ended up at SEK 63 billion last year, an increase of SEK 9 billion compared to the previous year.
The increase is as large as the rapidly growing e-commerce growth during the same period.
The new shopping figures are in a report from the industry organization Swedish Commerce.
Last year, foreign tourists spent 63 billion kronor on purchases in Swedish stores. This is equivalent to the retail turnover of 151 of the country's 290 municipalities, according to the report. Of this amount, 13.4 billion kronor ended up in the treasury as VAT revenue.
If you include Swedish tourists' consumption in Sweden, the total turnover for shopping tourism comes to 95 billion, a figure that has increased by a total of 10 billion.
Foreign visitors accounted for 9 percent of trade in physical stores and by 2025 that share will increase to between 11 and 13 percent, according to forecasts from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce.
When it comes to shopping, tourists who come here from outside are significantly different from us Swedes when we visit Sweden. We spend over half of our travel budget on travel, transport and accommodation. Tourists who come from abroad spend almost as much, 47 percent, on retail.
Source: TT
