Hotels fail to cash in on Swedish tourism boom
Cheaper prices have made it harder for Swedish hotels to profit on a recent the tourism boom, with six percent more rooms sold in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2014.
Meanwhile, the number of nights spent by travellers in hotels across Sweden in January-April rose by eight percent compared to the same period last year, according to industry organization Visita.
“Sweden is becoming increasingly attractive as a tourist country. And lately the weak krona has made it cheaper to stay the night in Sweden,” Visita chief economist Björn Arnek told newswire TT.
The number of leisure travellers, as opposed to business customers, rose by 13 percent, which corresponds to 250,000 more occupied rooms.
READ MORE: The Local's ultimate guide to travel in Sweden
But the hotels have so far struggled to cash in on Sweden's tourism boom.
Leisure travellers more often take advantage of special deals and offers, which means total revenue has not risen at the same speed as demand for hotel rooms.
On the whole in the country, revenue per hotel room only rose by five percent in the first four months of the year, compared to 2014.
In the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions it decreased by 0.4 percent. Sweden's third biggest city, Malmö, saw a small rise of 1.4 percent.
“It's a tough market when business travelling decreases. The hotels then work with various offers,” said Arnek.
READ MORE: What the weak krona means for you
Despite the Nordic nation tumbling in recent international tourism rankings, it is expected to continue to attract foreign tourists this year, who are hoping to spend their pounds, euros and dollars in the country's hotels, restaurants and shops.
A forecast by Visita earlier this year predicted that the number of overnight stays at Swedish hotels during the summer will increase by half a million, of which 175,000 are likely to be foreign guests.
The organization estimated that visitors from abroad were set to spend a total of 115 billion ($13.3 billion) in the country during the whole of 2015.
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Meanwhile, the number of nights spent by travellers in hotels across Sweden in January-April rose by eight percent compared to the same period last year, according to industry organization Visita.
“Sweden is becoming increasingly attractive as a tourist country. And lately the weak krona has made it cheaper to stay the night in Sweden,” Visita chief economist Björn Arnek told newswire TT.
The number of leisure travellers, as opposed to business customers, rose by 13 percent, which corresponds to 250,000 more occupied rooms.
READ MORE: The Local's ultimate guide to travel in Sweden
But the hotels have so far struggled to cash in on Sweden's tourism boom.
Leisure travellers more often take advantage of special deals and offers, which means total revenue has not risen at the same speed as demand for hotel rooms.
On the whole in the country, revenue per hotel room only rose by five percent in the first four months of the year, compared to 2014.
In the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions it decreased by 0.4 percent. Sweden's third biggest city, Malmö, saw a small rise of 1.4 percent.
“It's a tough market when business travelling decreases. The hotels then work with various offers,” said Arnek.
READ MORE: What the weak krona means for you
Despite the Nordic nation tumbling in recent international tourism rankings, it is expected to continue to attract foreign tourists this year, who are hoping to spend their pounds, euros and dollars in the country's hotels, restaurants and shops.
A forecast by Visita earlier this year predicted that the number of overnight stays at Swedish hotels during the summer will increase by half a million, of which 175,000 are likely to be foreign guests.
The organization estimated that visitors from abroad were set to spend a total of 115 billion ($13.3 billion) in the country during the whole of 2015.
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