The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has provided statistics for the outdoor hospitality sector for the year 2023. According to the data provided, last year the number of overnight stays in Swedish campsites was 16.6 million, with a 3.1% decrease compared to the previous year. The sector’s revenues amounted to 2.7 billion Swedish kronor, an increase of 3.8% compared to 2022. 2023 was thus a very positive year (the third best year ever for Sweden), but it did not manage to break the record set in 2022.
The sector is experiencing a phase of consolidation, becoming increasingly international, and its growth in 2023 was only hindered by unfavorable summer weather. “In July, the sector was the most popular accommodation type in Sweden, with 47% of all tourist overnight stays,” said Martin Juhos, CEO of SCR Svensk Camping, the association of Swedish campsites that brings together more than 300 campsites and manages Camping.se, Sweden’s largest website for searching and booking camping accommodations. After a strong start, however, the weather discouraged travelers and bookings dropped.
The partnership with ADAC
Despite the challenges, Swedish campsites have demonstrated their enormous potential and already represent an important cog in the engine of Swedish tourism, as 45% of European summer tourists stay in campsites when visiting Sweden. For this reason, SCR has strengthened its marketing efforts abroad in recent years, especially in Germany, where it has signed a digital sales partnership with the German motoring and tourism organization ADAC. This collaboration will be extended to the Netherlands and Switzerland during 2024.
But other markets are also being considered: “We are seeing increased interest from Switzerland and Belgium,” noted Martin Juhos, “but it is now important to ensure that Norwegian guests find their way back to Sweden after a somewhat subdued 2023”.
The performance of Swedish destinations
Looking at the most popular Swedish destinations, the highest number of total overnight stays in 2023 was Västra Götaland with 3.3 million. Kalmar County recorded instead the highest percentage of camping overnight stays from June to August 2023 (with 69% of all camping overnight stays), followed by Halland (66%) and Värmland (58%) of all camping overnight stays. Among international guests, Norwegians were the most present (67%), followed by Germans (48%) and Dutch (54%).
Photo by: Anna Hult – SCR Svensk Camping
