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Ever since the Vikings began to sail across the North Sea and even the Atlantic about 1,000 years ago, the Scandinavians have been great travellers. Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland might have small populations but they are very wealthy, which means a strong outbound market but an inbound market constrained to some extent by high prices.
Both outbound and inbound markets are strongly represented at TUR in Gothenburg, the major annual event for the travel and tourism industry in Scandinavia. Every year it attracts around 50,000 visitors, including over 23,000 professional buyers, plus business travellers and high spending private travellers to meet 2,000 exhibitors from about 100 countries all over the world.
Johan Lundberg, TUR’s director, says: “Outbound business represents the majority at TUR with a 60% share and about 95 countries represented. We represent the whole of Scandinavia as long-haul destinations in particular regard Scandinavia as a single market. ”
“Because these countries have strong economies and because of the weather, there is a lot of long-haul travel especially in winter.”
Asia is very popular, especially Thailand, and many Swedes lost their lives in the tsunami in December 2004. Demand still outstrips capacity on long-haul flights in winter, which are mainly from Copenhagen but also from Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.
Within Europe, Scandinavians head mainly for the warmth of the Mediterranean and for major cities for sightseeing and shopping. Low-cost airlines have brought a vast increase in travel including pan-European carriers such as Ryanair, and regional carriers including Sterling, FlyMe and Norwegian.
The big inbound and domestic presence at TUR means an opportunity for the Scandinavian countries to exhibit to a wide audience, with Sweden alone having 30% of the total exhibition space. The inbound market has also benefited from low-cost airlines, but has to battle against the image of being expensive.
VisitSweden concentrates on markets including the UK, US and Japan, with the emphasis mainly on nature holidays and its trendy and cosmopolitan cities. Other countries take a similar approach, with Norway having dramatic scenery and Finland dominating the market for Santa Claus breaks leading up to Christmas. Winter tourism is developing rapidly in Finland, Sweden and Norway with the emphasis on snow and ice adventures.
TUR is also being developed as a business venue for the conference and meeting industry, with an extensive marketing campaign to increase the number of these visitors. TUR 2006 was the most business-intensive fair to date with a new online meeting booking system which registered over 2,000 pre-booked meetings.
TRIP – Travel Industry in Progress – was introduced successfully last year to increase TUR’s business value. “Its aim is to develop the industry by bringing together decision-makers in the tourism sector with entrepreneurs and risk capitalists,” said Lundberg.
Golf enthusiasts had their own section at TUR for the first time last year, and planning is underway for a larger golf presence at TUR 2007 from March 22–25.
The Quality Travel Show specialising in up-market travel is a new fair co-organised by TUR and the magazine RES/Emma Publishing. It will be held on October 21–22 this year in Stockholm and is intended not to compete with TUR, but to complement it.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
