Tourism outside summer is growing fastest in Sweden

Since 2015, the number of commercial overnight stays has increased significantly faster during the rest of the year than during June-August, according to new statistics and analysis from Visit Sweden.

During the period January-May and September-December, the number of guest nights increased by 3.6 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year. Compared with 2015, the increase is 23.5 per cent.

Summer is still the largest individual tourist season in Sweden and accounted for just over 30 million guest nights during June-August 2025. That was an increase of 1.1 per cent compared with summer 2024.

But the fastest growth is now taking place during spring, autumn and winter.

According to Visit Sweden, the development is driven by several factors, including increased international demand, more city breaks, winter tourism and more spread-out travel behaviour, where travellers make more and shorter trips during the year.

At the same time, new search data shows that international interest in Swedish winter experiences has increased markedly in recent years. According to Visit Sweden, many travel searches take place around 30-45 days before arrival.

The trend is particularly strong in northern Sweden. During the winter months of December-April, around 21.6 million commercial overnight stays were recorded in Sweden, an increase of 3 per cent compared with the previous year. Foreign guest nights rose by 12 per cent at the same time.

The counties of Dalarna, Jämtland, Norrbotten, Värmland and Västerbotten together accounted for 7.4 million winter overnight stays. In Norrbotten, around 41 per cent of winter guest nights were international.

The metropolitan regions also continue to be important drivers of Swedish tourism. Greater Stockholm, Greater Gothenburg and Greater Malmö together accounted for around 35 per cent of the country’s guest nights in 2025, with the hotel segment dominating through city breaks, business travel and events throughout the year.

At the same time, several international markets are growing faster outside the metropolitan areas than in the larger urban destinations. This includes visitors from France, the United States and Belgium.