Sweden

From 22 May we will be working to update all of the data and documents on this page following the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revision of the International Passenger Survey (IPS) data for 2009-2018 and the released detailed 2019 data. UK data will be updated first and followed by the regional data from 27 May. Please be patient as we update these pages or contact the VisitBritain research team if you have any questions- VB/VEResearch@visitbritain.org. Thank you.

Visitor characteristics

Almost two-in-five of Swedish visitors are under 35 years of age
Nearly four-in-five holiday visitors are making a repeat trip to Britain (excluding British nationals)
A significant proportion of visitors live in or around Stockholm
97% of departing visitors say they are ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a holiday

Popular activities

Dining in a restaurant

Visited a Pub

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	17.4
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	22
Number of outbound visits (m)	15.2
Most visited destination	Spain

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2019
Population (m)	10.3
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	51,013
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	2.5
Annual average GDP growth in the past year (%)	1.3

Sweden Market Snapshot (PDF, 843KB)

Sweden Market Profile (PDF, 3.8MB)

Sweden Aviation Profile (PDF, 646KB)

Find out where visitors from Sweden to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published 2016)

Read about the preferences of Europeans towards tourism (PDF, 1.65MB, Published March 2015)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 11.3381 SEK

As of 22 January 2021

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Sweden

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What Swedes think about Britain

Swedes are more upbeat than average in their opinion of how welcoming the UK is, but do not hold the UK in high regard for scenic natural beauty
The cultural product Swedes most strongly associate with the UK is music by far, followed by museums, films, sports, and pop videos
When thinking about holiday destinations Swedes see a chance to have ‘fun and laughter’ and ‘enjoy the beauty of the landscape’ as important. They perceive the US, Australia and Italy as the ‘best places’ for it.
Swedes are more likely to nominate Britain as the best place to ‘meet the locals’ then they are other leading destinations
Activities that appeal to potential Swedish visitors include 'visiting Madame Tussauds', 'enjoying a traditional afternoon tea', 'driving through the countryside in England', 'taking a canal boat tour through the waterways of England', and 'going on a food tour of one of London's best foodie markets'

Caring for visitors

Swedes expect good-value accommodation and will use budget acommodation - they will expect en-suite facilities and wooden/tiled floors
Swedes will take more notice of environmental credentials than visitors from many other markets
Visitors from Sweden are more likely than the average visitor to use a credit card to pay for goods and services in Britain

The leisure & travel trade

The Swedish trade can be roughly split into four categories of charter operators, business travel/MICE, online operators and retail travel agents with many companies offering a mix of the four services
The key centres for travel trade are Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo
There is no distinct planning cycle so it is possible to do business in Sweden throughout the year

Access to Britain from Sweden


Measure	2019
Weekly aircraft departures	188
Weekly seat capacity	32,340
Airports with direct routes in Sweden	5
Airports with direct routes in Britain	9

The majority of visits to Britain from Sweden are made by air
The bulk of seat capacity serves the Stockholm to London corridor
Four airlines operate virtually all capacity between Sweden and Britain
Copenhagen in Denmark is also a popular gateway to the UK from the South of Sweden
Visitors departing Britain to travel home to Sweden by air are charged £13 in Air Passenger Duty if travelling in economy class
(2019 data, excludes flights from Salen)

Markets

Markets

Sweden

Sweden