Expensive Denmark is getting more tourists than Sweden

With twice the population, the larger and cheaper Sweden should have significantly more tourists. But, in recent months, Denmark is leading and gaining more popularity.

Swedish tourism generates nearly 300 billion SEK, including domestic tourism, with foreign guest nights and tourism accounting for around 60 billion SEK.

Interest in Sweden remains strong. Destinations such as the mountains, Norrland, Österlen, Astrid Lindgren’s World, Liseberg, and the unique archipelagos of Gothenburg and Stockholm, as well as exotic animals like moose and reindeer, spark international travel interest. Visit Sweden campaigns indicate that 67 million tourists plan to visit Sweden. Yet, most choose to travel elsewhere. Increasingly, they disembark at Scandinavia’s largest airport, Kastrup, or take the train directly to Copenhagen Central. Symbolically, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen is just a stone’s throw from the platform – just across Bernstorffsgade Street.

Tivoli in Copenhagen is located very close to the city’s central station. Photo: Anders Hansson

“Denmark’s location benefits us. Germany, with its 85 million inhabitants, is the most important. Every day, 2,000 passengers from Germany disembark at Copenhagen Central. We build our campaigns deliberately and target our audiences clearly, so in the years after the pandemic, we have had the most tourist growth within the EU, significantly larger than Sweden,” says Mads Schreiner, marketing director at Visit Denmark.

Susanne Andersson, CEO of Visit Sweden, believes there is much to learn from Denmark’s priorities and methods.

“Denmark has a clearer economic policy focus on tourism. Visit Denmark’s budget is nearly 150 percent larger than Visit Sweden’s. We manage to create good campaigns in January-March when most people start planning their vacations, but we do not have the means to follow up on the campaigns when vacation purchases are made. We have been forced to make cuts. Last year, we stopped marketing ourselves in India.”

A common measure of how important tourism is that global tourism accounts for an average of ten percent of GDP within the EU. In Sweden, the corresponding figure is 2.7 percent.

“We cannot compete with Denmark’s location near the continent, but we could have better communications. Sweden has large distances. Arlanda has not had the recovery in air traffic that Kastrup has had. Even train traffic is lacking. We need to ask ourselves how we want it. On average, four out of ten hotel rooms in Sweden are empty year-round. Tourism is a revenue source with all the potential to grow,” says Susanne Andersson.

“Approximately four out of ten hotel rooms are empty year-round,” says Susanne Andersson, CEO of Visit Sweden. Photo: Jonas Borg

At well-known destinations such as Liseberg and Astrid Lindgren’s World, 2024 looks like a successful year. However, it is still some way to go to reach the record year of 2019.

“In 2019, we had 537,000 guests, but it will be a good season this year. For us, Norwegian, Danish, and German tourism is crucial, and it has increased every year. This year, we expect to reach 500,000 guests in total. Danes get a lot for their money in Sweden. I also see more and more Norwegians coming here,” says Joacim Johansson, CEO of Astrid Lindgren’s World.

“Twenty percent of the guests come from abroad. The most important are Norway, Germany, and Denmark,” says Joacim Johansson, CEO of Astrid Lindgren’s World. Photo: Astrid Lindgren’s World

“Denmark has a larger catchment area. They also benefit from more collaborations within destinations. It can involve trips that include both Lego and water parks. Here in Sweden, we have stopped large water park projects, the most recent being the planned water park near Lake Vättern,” says Joacim Johansson.

Liseberg had ambitious plans to combine its amusement park, which attracts about 1.6 million visitors annually, with the large water attraction Oceana. The construction of Oceana near Liseberg was halted by a major fire in April this year. Since then, Liseberg has decided to resume the construction of the facility.

“That Oceana was supposed to be our most important new attraction, offering our important Danish and Norwegian guests more than just an amusement park. However, this fall, we will begin collaborations with Ullared, thus boosting ourselves together,” says Andreas Andersen, CEO of Liseberg, who previously was CEO of Tivoli in Denmark.

“Denmark is good at offering packages of experiences to its tourists. Legoland is the largest in Northern Europe, but the most important for their increase has been Copenhagen’s attractiveness,” says Andreas Andersen.

Facts: Tourism Generates Billions

The ten OECD countries that generated the most from tourism in 2022, calculated in billion SEK at the then exchange rate of 10.50 SEK/USD: