The long-term strategy for Swedish tourism was presented by the former government in October 2021. It has not been formally repealed but is no longer actively in use. A new tourism policy goal was accepted by the Parliament in 2022 but was formally repealed in January 2024. Tourism policy is now part of the economic policy goal. The Swedish government and the tourism sector remain committed to rebuilding and boosting the sector despite the lack of an overarching strategy. Sweden has several initiatives which currently support tourism.
To help develop more robust tourism data and statistics, the agency for Economic and Regional Growth was allocated SEK 150 million for data and statistics and to support the transition towards sustainable tourism in 2021 and 2022. The funding was used to create better models for data and statistics, provide suggestions for indicators to measure sustainable tourism, develop products with a special focus on nature-based tourism, strengthen digitalisation, and create methods to develop attractive places for residents and visitors. As part of the efforts to improve tourism data, Sweden is leading a Nordic collaboration on payment card transaction data (see box below).
Between 2021 and 2024, SEK 100 million will be distributed to almost 40 projects across Sweden to support infrastructure investments for recreation and tourism in rural areas such as trails for hiking and mountain biking. This programme will result in more and better trails that benefit residents, visitors, and businesses.
The Smarter Together platform was created in collaboration with the Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, Visit Sweden and the regions of Sweden, aiming to build better capacity for destinations, local authorities and regions. In 2023, the platform focused on skills and training, transport, knowledge sharing and innovation both in public sector and in the tourism industry.
Workforce and skills shortage became a pressing issue for tourism and a priority to the government, as one‑quarter of the Swedish tourism workforce moved to other sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been partly restored. However, it remains a challenge for the tourism industry. Tillväxtverkets published eight reports analysing the issue, concluding that recruitment potential largely lies among those who are currently out of the labour market.
The pandemic also led to an increased interest in nature and outdoor tourism, which has continued to grow. Initiatives to promote and strengthen this segment, have included the production of a report and articles which provide insights on the trends, development opportunities and target markets in nature tourism. This report was distributed to various stakeholders. Tillväxtverkets also financed the attendance to the Adventure Travel World Summit in 2022 for nature tourism companies and regional promotion actors.
