Hotel & Tours Group

Norwegians and Germans top the list of foreign visitors to Sweden. The Swedes prefer flying to Thailand or New York for a holiday outside Europe. For the past ten years, the largest travel habit survey in Sweden - and perhaps in the Nordic countries - has been conducted at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport. It contains a lot of interesting information about how the travel and tourism industry is doing.

Each year, 100,000 travellers answer questions about their travels. The survey began ten years ago and is a gold mine for those seeking information about travel habits. In particular, it is a yardstick of how the important travel and tourism industry is doing. In Sweden this industry has a larger "export" value than either cars or pharmaceuticals.

The 2008 Travel Habit Survey shows some clear trends.

“Long-haul travel increased, both to and from Sweden. For Swedes, long-haul travel is primarily to Bangkok (Thailand), but New York (US) and Phuket (Thailand) are also high on the list,” says Mats Sigurdson, Director of Aviation Marketing at LFV, the State enterprise that operates Sweden's major airports.

The economic upturn in China and India is clearly evident from business travel to Sweden. “Americans top the list of non-European visitors, both as tourists and business travellers. But one interesting change among non-European business travellers is that Chinese and Indians are number two and four on the list,” Mr Sigurdson says.

Germans are the category of visitors with the largest growth. “Sweden has always been a popular destination in Germany. We are seeing a clear link between supply and demand. More German airlines are now flying non-stop to Stockholm-Arlanda, so we are also getting more German travellers,” Mr Sigurdson explains.

The 2008 Travel Habit Survey, Top Five lists:

* Visitors to Sweden from countries outside Europe: US, Canada, China, Australia, Japan.
* Visitors to Sweden from elsewhere in Europe: Norway, Germany, UK, Finland, Denmark.
* Swedes' destinations outside Europe: Bangkok, New York, Phuket, Hurghada (Egypt), Beijing (China).
* Swedes' foreign destinations in Europe: London (UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Helsinki (Finland), Paris (France).

For further information, please contact:
Mats Sigurdson, Director of Aviation Makreting, LFV, mobile 0733-23 86 01
Jan Lindqvist, Head of Corporate Communication, Stockholm Division, LFV, mobile 0708-91 64 02

source: arlanda.se