Over three million foreign visitors at Stockholm Arlanda in 2011

Swedencontinues to be an attractive destination for many foreign visitors. For the first time ever, the number of foreign visitors exceeded three million atStockholmArlandaAirport. Foreign visitors accounted for a full 83 per cent of the one million increase in passengers flying internationally from Swedavia’s airports in 2011.

The largest increase in the number of visitors comes fromNorwayandBritain. Among smaller groups of visitors,Poland(45 per cent increase) andIceland(84 per cent increase) are the countries with rapid growth rapidly. Growth in the number of visitors from outside Europe comes primarily fromBrazil,ChinaandThailand.

“The large increase in visitors shows how muchSwedencontinues to grow as a country to visit and as an international business partner. It also shows what an important role airports play as a hub since we depend on the world around us in order to grow,” says Brett Weihart, director of aviation business at Swedavia.

Alongside the growing number of visitors toSweden, Swedes are choosing to travel to southernEuropein ever larger number. The greatest increase was toSpain, with 87,000 (15 per cent) more departing passengers in 2011 compared to 2010.Turkeyalso showed strong growth, with 69,000 (28 per cent) more departing passengers.

“The growing number of passengers to destinations in Europe can be explained by the drop in charter travel toEgyptandTunisiaduring the year. But we are seeing a sharp increase in demand forBarcelonain particular and more departures toIstanbul”, Mr Weihart notes.

Travel to Asia is also on the rise, andThailandis among the ten destinations with the most growth. TheUnited Arab Emirates, withDubaiobviously the leading destination there, saw a sharp rise, 34 per cent. Other long-haul destinations with rapid growth are Singapore, Argentina and Sri Lanka.

Facts about the survey
Swedavia’s Travel Habit Survey is the most extensive report that regularly describes changes in air travel inSweden. The report is based on 136,000 interviews carried out each year at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Bromma Stockholm Airport,Göteborg Landvetter Airport and Malmö Airport. The aim is to describe travel trends and provide information about changes in air travel and access to and from Sweden.

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Swedavia Press Office 08-797 87 77 or press@swedavia.se