Tourism in Sweden

Last updated

Tourism in Sweden comprised a relatively small part of the Swedish economy in 2011 at 2.9% of the country's GDP; at this time, tourism generated 264 billion Swedish krona, 98.8 billion of which was foreign-visitor expenditure in Sweden. 7.1% of Swedish household income is spent on domestic tourism. [1]

Contents

One well-known tourist route is via train from southern to northern Sweden, viewing historical, natural and cultural attractions. This route is particularly popular among German tourists.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Sweden was the 21st most-visited country in the world, with 7,627,000 arrivals in 2006.

Swedish culture

View from southern Oland Oland Gettlinge.jpg
View from southern Öland
Tanumshede rock carvings Tanumshede 2005 rock carvings 4.jpg
Tanumshede rock carvings

Sweden has a number of World Heritage Sites, which are popular as tourist destinations. These include:

Swedish horse racing is an unusual attraction, in that many races are actually trotting races. The horses are not allowed to gallop; they pull a small vehicle ridden by the human racer.

Swedish nature

Due to Sweden's northern location, the summer sun sets for only short periods of time (not at all north of the Arctic Circle). This phenomenon allows outdoor activities later in the evening than usual.

Sweden has a large number of lakes and forests; the former are popular for fishing and canoeing. There are several large lakes, including lakes Vättern and Vänern. The Göta Canal from Stockholm to Gothenburg allows for trips in the summer.

Hiking is popular in the summer, both in the forested regions as well as in the alpine landscapes.

Mountain-hiking is limited to the northern and north-western parts of Sweden where a nearly 1000 km long and 50 to 200 km wide mountain range borders to Norway. In the south the Swedish mountains are generally high rolling hills with some occasional pointy peaks, while the middle and particularly northern parts of the range gradually exhibit a more dramatic nature. Sweden, and Scandinavia in general, lacks notably high peaks (the highest mountain in Sweden is Mt. Kebnekaise near Kiruna, which is 2,111 metres (6,926 ft) high). Despite this, dramatic areas are found in several places, and the northernmost parts of the Swedish mountain range house a notably large and dramatic wild alpine region, known as Laponia area. This area includes world-famous mountain regions like the Sarek National Park and is sometimes referred to as "Europe's last wilderness" or "Europe's Alaska". Covering about 9400 km2, the Laponia area is the largest wilderness in Europe with vast areas of untouched nature. [2] This attracts many hikers each year, but visiting certain parts of the region requires experience since it is mostly roadless land with huge walking distances, uninhabited, and with a lack of cellphone reception in large parts.

Another popular area for Swedish mountain hiking is Kungsleden, or "The King's Trail". It is a 400 km long trail that reaches through nearly half the Swedish mountain range, from Abisko in the north, to Hemavan in the south. [3] This hike does not require any extreme experience and staffed mountain huts with accommodation and small shops are located along the trail. It is said to be a great nature experience of world class, both for veterans as well as beginners. [4]

Northern Sweden and winter sports

The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi Sweden Ice Hotel 5.jpg
The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi

In the winter, the Jukkasjärvi ice hotel is built every year near the northern town of Kiruna. Kiruna is also frequently used as a place from which to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern lights).

Tourists in Sweden's north in the winter often take trips in reindeer sleighs with Sami drivers, in dog sleighs, or on snowmobiles. It is also possible to ski, with downhill resorts at Åre and Vemdalen, and there are many cross country ski tracks throughout northern Sweden. Vasaloppet (in the beginning of March) is the oldest, longest and largest cross-country ski race in the world. Ice hockey is a popular sport in the winter. Many of the bays in the northern part of the country are frozen in winter, and it is possible to go ice yachting or ice skating on the ice. Many lakes are also frozen, so ice fishing (pimpelfiske) is quite common.

Cities and towns

Gamla stan (Old town) in central Stockholm Stockholm old town 2002.jpg
Gamla stan (Old town) in central Stockholm

Most cities and towns in Sweden are small compared to other European cities and towns. The largest city is Stockholm, with close to 900,000 inhabitants, followed by Gothenburg with 493,000 and Malmö with 270,000.

Stockholm has been Sweden's capital since at least the 14th century. It is Sweden's metropolis, the centre of the government and of the media. It has a waterfront adjacent to the Stockholm Archipelago; parts of Stockholm are preserved largely intact from older times.

Gothenburg is a relatively recently built city (dating from the 17th century). It is visited for its attractions and shopping opportunities.

Malmö has recently emerged in the eastern part of the Öresund Region, tied together with Copenhagen, Denmark, via the Öresund Bridge. During the last 15 years, Malmö has put more resources into culture; previously it had a reputation as a working class city. The twisted skyscraper Turning Torso and the main crane at the Kockums shipyard are landmarks, with the first being newer. Both Malmö and Gothenburg hosted the Uefa U21 European Championships during the summer of 2009. The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was also held in Malmö.

Uppsala was the political and religious centre of Viking Age Sweden. It became the seat of the Archbishop of Sweden in 1167, with Scandinavia's largest church building Uppsala Cathedral inaugurated in the 1440s. In 1477 Uppsala University was founded as the first university in the Nordic countries, thus making Uppsala the center of education in Sweden.

Lund was part of Denmark until 1658, and had been the seat of Denmark's archbishop. In 1666, Lund was granted Sweden's second university, the Lund University; it is Scandinavia's largest.

Transportation

The Swedish rail system is called SJ; it has slower-speed trains throughout the country and faster X 2000 trains connecting the major cities. Connection by rail is possible to Norway and Denmark; connections to Finland are by bus, due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take Silja and Viking Line boats from Stockholm to Helsinki (Finland), Rostock (Germany) or Mariehamn on the Åland islands or from Holmsund at Umeå to Vasa (Finland). The Scandinavian Airlines System and other airlines provides access by air for longer trips.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malmö</span> City in Skåne County, Sweden

Malmö is the largest city in the Swedish county of Skåne (Scania). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal population of 357,377 in 2022. The Malmö Metropolitan Region is home to over 700,000 people, and the Öresund Region, which includes Malmö and Copenhagen, is home to four million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Sweden</span>

Sweden is a country in Northern Europe on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It borders Norway to the west ; Finland to the northeast; and the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia to the south and east. At 450,295 km2 (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the fifth largest in Europe, and the 55th largest country in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Sweden</span>

Transport in Sweden is available for all four main modes of transport—air, bus, ferry and rail—assisting residents and visitors without their own vehicle to travel around much of Sweden's 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scandinavian Peninsula</span> Land mass in Northern Europe

The Scandinavian Peninsula is located in Northern Europe, and roughly comprises the mainlands of Sweden, Norway and the northwestern area of Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiruna</span> Mining city in northern Sweden

Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County. The city was originally built in the 1890s to serve the Kiruna Mine.

As of 2019, Norway ranks 22nd in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. Tourism in Norway contributed 4.2% of the gross domestic product as reported in 2018. Every seven in a hundred people throughout the country work in the tourism industry. Tourism is seasonal in Norway, with more than half of total tourists visiting between the months of May and August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norrland</span> Northernmost region of Sweden

Norrland is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administrative purposes, it continues to exist as a historical, cultural, and geographic region; it is often referred to in everyday language, e.g., in weather forecasts. Several related Norrland dialects form a distinct subset of dialects of the Swedish language separate from those to its south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tour skating</span> Recreational ice skating

Tour skating is recreational long distance ice skating on natural ice. It is particularly popular in the Netherlands and the Nordic countries. It is becoming more popular in areas of North America such as New England, Southcentral Alaska, and Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Sweden</span>


Rail transport in Sweden uses a network of 10,912 kilometres (6,780 mi), the 24th largest in the world. Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator of passenger trains has traditionally been the state-owned SJ, though today around 70% of all rail traffic consists of subsidised local and regional trains for which the regional public transport authorities bear responsibility. Passenger traffic has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium, and in 2019 Sweden ranked number five in the world and number three in the European union, as well as number six in the world when measured by passenger share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abisko</span> Village in northern Sweden

Abisko is a village in Sápmi (Lapland), in northern Sweden, roughly 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, and near Abisko National Park, located 4 km west of the village. It had 85 inhabitants as of 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abisko National Park</span> National Park in Sweden

Abisko National Park is a National Park in Sweden, established in 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockholm Central Station</span> Railway station in Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm Central Station is a railway station in Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan/Central Plan. The station opened on 18 July 1871 and it had over 200,000 visitors daily, of which about 170,000 were travellers, until 10 July 2017 when the local commuter trains started to call at the Stockholm City Station which is located under the central station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kungsleden</span> Hiking trail in Sweden

Kungsleden is a hiking trail in northern Sweden, approximately 467 kilometres (290 mi) long, between Abisko in the north and Hemavan in the south. The full distance breaks down into 419.3 km of trekking, 18.2 km of lake crossings and a 29.5 km stretch of road, almost all of which hikers cover by bus. It passes through, near the southern end, the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Europe. In the winter Kungsleden is a ski trail with approximately the same route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scania</span> Province in Sweden

Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne, is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne County, created in 1997. Like the other historical provinces of Sweden, Scania still features in colloquial speech and in cultural references, and can therefore not be regarded as an archaic concept. Within Scania there are 33 municipalities that are autonomous within the Skåne Regional Council. Scania's largest city, Malmö, is the third-largest city in Sweden, as well as the fifth-largest in Scandinavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve</span> Nature reserve in Sweden

The Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located in the municipalities of Sorsele and Storuman in Västerbotten County of Swedish Lapland. It is the largest natural reserve in Sweden and one of the largest protected areas in Europe, totaling 562,772 ha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltoluokta</span> Settlement in Jokkmokk Municipality, Sweden

Saltoluokta is a 120 kilometer drive outside Gällivare in northern Sweden, off the beaten track in Jokkmokk Municipality near the municipality's border with Gällivare. Saltoluokta is located less than 1 kilometre from Stora Sjöfallet National Park and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Laponia and it is a popular starting point for Sarek National Park visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White (architecture firm)</span>

White Arkitekter is an architectural firm based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is the biggest firm in Scandinavia, with more than 900 employees. The company has 16 offices in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and England.

References

  1. "Fakta om svensk turism 2011" (in Swedish). Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. June 2012.
  2. "Laponia". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  3. "Kungsleden" (in Swedish). Svenska Turistföreningen.
  4. Kungsleden – The Royal Trail Through Arctic Sweden by Claes Grundsten