When the national organization Visit Sweden finished working on the Danish market at the end of 2019, the regional tourism players in Skåne, Småland, Öland, Halland and Blekinge joined forces in a new partnership to market southern Sweden in Denmark. Then the world was hit by the pandemic, which put a stop to travel. But now, with the hope that travel can soon take place without the risk of spreading infection, the new website is being launched: visitsouthsweden.dk
– The Danish market is important for many entrepreneurs in southern Sweden and we hope for a quick recovery when the time is right, says Heléne Östberg, brand and innovation manager at Tourism in Skåne, which is driving the collaboration.
The partnership between the regions is a way to pool resources and avoid competition and duplication of effort.
– At the same time, we become more relevant and attractive to the target group with a wider range when we market ourselves together, says Heléne.
The geographical proximity combined with a varied offer means that Danes can visit southern Sweden often throughout the year. The biggest drivers for Danes to travel to Sweden are to get away from everyday life and enjoy food and drink, experience new places and cities and nature attracts them. Almost a third of the target group wants to experience nature and tranquility, preferably by being active. Hiking, canoeing and cycling are popular activities.
– We want to capture the interest of Danes, inspire and guide them to experiences in southern Sweden. We will work with press, influencers, digital advertising and we will launch a new website visitsouthsweden.dk and accounts on Facebook and Instagram, says Heléne and explains that since Southern Sweden has high visitor pressure during the peak summer with both domestic and international tourism, the focus will be on attracting visitors outside this period and communicating southern Sweden as a year-round destination.
– The majority of Danes have their main holiday during the period 15 June – 15 August, but the geographical proximity makes southern Sweden an attractive destination even for a long weekend and these trips are spread out more throughout the year. There is also potential with more and more people who can work remotely and of course the older Danes who have their working life behind them and thus the opportunity to travel at any time, she continues.
She believes that as the world soon reopens with the pandemic fresh in mind, it will become more attractive to travel during periods when you avoid crowds.
– A sustainable destination must create balance in visitor flows and strive to be a vibrant destination all year round. But instead of ”translating” the summer of Southern Sweden to the rest of the year, we should highlight unique experiences that are attractive outside the summer period.
