Tourism in Sweden

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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]

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

Main article: Culture of Sweden
View from southern Öland
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

See also:
Allemansrätten

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.

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 Jukkasjärvi

In the winter, the

Aurora Borealis
(Northern lights).

Tourists in Sweden's north in the winter often take trips in reindeer sleighs with

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

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

summer of 2009. Malmö was also the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 and 2024
.

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

Main article: Transport in Sweden

The Swedish rail system is called

Scandinavian Airlines System
and other airlines provides access by air for longer trips.

See also

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. Svenska Turistföreningen
    .
  4. ^ Kungsleden – The Royal Trail Through Arctic Sweden by Claes Grundsten
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sweden.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Sweden&oldid=1257488000"