We just had a visit from our Dutch friends Peter and Dorine who spent ten days in Sweden on a bicycling holiday. Peter and Dorine have travelled around Europe on their bicycles and this year we convinced them to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world – Sweden.
Since I moved back to Sweden 1 ½ year ago we have had more than 50 visits from abroad to Ulricehamn and the surrounding area. West Sweden offers a fantastic opportunity for tourists who want to combine a holiday in beautiful nature, swimming in the sea or the many lakes or enjoy shopping in bigger and smaller cities. The low level of the Swedish crown makes Sweden even more attractive for foreign visitors. Still the service level we currently offer to tourists is embarrassingly low.
Our friends tried to find a bicycling map of West Sweden before arrival but that was impossible. The few sights they could find on the Internet were all in Swedish and it was not possible to order any maps if you were not living in Sweden. I told them that they could get maps up on arrival but when we went to the local tourism office in Ulricehamn we were told that they only offer maps of Ulricehamn. If you want to bicycle outside our municipality you have to get a map of the next municipality in that town but how do find your way there without a map?
Our friends told the girl at the tourism office that they had heard of Sverigeleden (a path leading through Sweden and which is fairly well known I would say) but the girl had no maps of it and did not know where you could find any. I thought that Peter and Dorin were unlucky and just met the wrong person at our local tourism office but when they arrived back here yesterday I realized that this was not the case.
The low knowledge level of the personal at the different tourism offices, the low standard of the different camping’s in West Sweden and the lack of interest in helping a tourist find their way was worse then travelling in Eastern Europe! They loved the nature and the bicycling paths but had many ideas on how to improve how we deal with tourists.
Peter and Dorine had so many strange experiences along the way that I felt really uncomfortable about it. Is this my Sweden? For example; in Göteborg they finally got a bicycling map of the archipelago and decided to bike to a ferry. When they arrived a few hours later the local tourism office told them that the ferry closed down ten years ago? When asking if there were any other boats or if they had any suggestions on what to see or do in the area the girl said that she didn’t know!
We are so bad at dealing with tourists from abroad that it is remarkable. Still it is one of the fastest growing businesses in Sweden. Tourism is one of the most effective ways of redistributing wealth, by moving money into local economies from other parts of the country and overseas. It brings income into a community that would otherwise not be earned!
Economic benefits resulting from tourism can take a number of forms including jobs, increased spending and economic diversification. Economic diversification can be seen as an insurance policy in hard times. By offering an additional means of income, tourism can support a community when a traditional industry is under financial pressure. We are suffering a decline in many businesses but tourism is not one of them. See the opportunity this brings to our region and act on it!
Another aspect of tourism is the positive effects it has on community identity and pride. A positive sense of community identity can be reinforced and tourism can encourage local communities to maintain their traditions and identity. Eco-tourism can place a greater focus on the conservation of natural resources through the recognition of their importance to visitor experiences and their economic value to the local community.
In many other countries a national agency make sure that cities and regions cooperate in a professional way so that a tourist can travel wherever they want to. All websites directed to tourists should be in at least English and be linked to other tourist providers as well. It is not good when the Swedish part of the sight shows many more rental possibilities then the English part of the same sight! A tourist coming to get information and help should not have to leave empty handed and included in the service a normal good day and good buy should be compulsory. Why do we not see tourism as an important business where staff is properly trained?
In my municipality we want more inhabitants. In order to attract them we need to market ourselves better and show the world what we have to offer. Increased tourism does not only generate wealth but also raise awareness about a place which in turn can effect mobility of people. We need to offer a perfect service to anyone wanting to spend time here and if they also want to see the rest of Sweden we need to help them doing this as well. Cooperation, increased service levels, knowledge training, better language skills and looking at tourism as a professional business is a must if we want today’s visitors to return tomorrow!
And we all have to take responsibility for this – tourism offices, the politicians, local businesses and we as inhabitants – if we want to succeed! Luckily I think Peter and Dorine will be back! And for our 18 guests who are about to arrive shortly I hope I can show you what a great place this is because despite some issues this is a unique place!
Greatings from Ulricehamn!!!
1 comment:
jag säger bara SOMMARJOBBARE...
Hela Sverige är ett U-land i juli.
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