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Visit Sweden 10 November 2010

With new and quirky hotel openings, gourmet menus, Hollywood filming and new airline routes popping up over the next few months, Sweden has a lot to offer British visitors. What's more, with a survey highlighting Sweden to be far less expensive than most people assume, as well as lots of new flights direct from the UK, there's never been a better time to visit.

Sweden - more affordable than you thought
A recent survey by Skyscanner showed that Brits are rather misguided when it comes to deciphering ‘affordable' holiday destinations. When Skyscanner asked over 1,500 UK consumers to score 30 popular holiday destinations on whether they believed them to be expensive or cheap, Sweden was perceived to be the most pricey. However these assumptions were proved incorrect when Skyscanners then analysed the costs involved in visiting the countries: including flights, Sweden ranked down at number 21, cheaper than Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, France, Italy, Spain and even India and Thailand. For more ideas on things to do in Sweden on any budget visit www.visitsweden.com

New routes from the UK open up Sweden this autumn and winter
Luleå in Lapland (www.visitlulea.se) is set to become more popular with UK tourists this winter, thanks to the launch of the first-ever direct route from the UK. SAS (www.flysas.co.uk) is launching a flight from London Heathrow every Saturday from 6 November, and is expected to run the route year-round.

West Sweden and Gothenburg are also becoming even more accessible with the launch of new routes to Sweden's west coast city this autumn and winter. New flights are being introduced from London, Manchester and Edinburgh through easyJet, British Airways and Ryanair. EasyJet (www.easyJet.com) started to fly twice daily from London Gatwick and to Gothenburg Landvetter Airport on 6 September and will launch from Manchester on 10 December. British Airways (www.britishairways.com) will start flying from London Heathrow to Gothenburg Landvetter Airport twice daily on 28 November and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) also launched a new flight from Edinburgh to Gothenburg City Airport on 5 November. With all these additional services, a visit to Sweden's second largest city is more attainable than ever before.

In addition to this, British Airways is extending its network from London City Airport with a new double-daily weekday service from the London Docklands airport to Copenhagen in Denmark, providing a direct air link between the two capital cities. Sweden's third city, Malmö is then just a short distance away over the Øresund Bridge that links the two cities. The new flights commenced on 12 September.

For skiers, tour operator Neilson (www.neilson.co.uk) is introducing new charter flights from Manchester to Östersund on 19th December, making the ski resorts of Åre and Vemdalen more accessible than ever. The weekly Sunday service, which will run until 27th February 2011, is being introduced following the success of Neilson's London Heathrow to Östersund charter flight.

New Treehotel, Luleå
Swedish Lapland has often been called Europe's last wilderness and the relatively unknown area of Luleå brought a unique offering with the opening of the Treehotel on 17 July 2010. Whilst there are some tree-based hotels in the world, none benefit from the same architectural concept. There are six completely unique themed Tree Houses, created by five separate architects, with more to be added. Home to the world's first tree top sauna and offering the possibility of sipping on cocktails in the ‘UFO-tree cottage', it could be considered the world's largest outdoor playground for adults. For more details visit www.treehotel.se.

Luleå is a microcosm of everything that is so great about Swedish Lapland, but instead of having hours to drive to each point of interest, everything is reachable within 15-20 minutes. It has a population of about 73,000 and is a city of contrast with icy cold winters and beautifully warm summers meaning visitors can bask on the vast archipelago in the summer months and try out some extreme winter sports in the colder months For more information visit www.visitlulea.se

Hollywood comes to Sweden
Following the storming success of Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy of books last year, Hollywood has arrived in Sweden to make a new film of the first book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The Swedish version of the film was released earlier this year to huge critical acclaim, taking more than $100 million in Europe and the Hollywood version is currently being filmed. Directed by David Fincher, Daniel Craig will be playing the role of Mikael Blomqvist and Rooney Mara will play the lead character Lisbeth Salander. Fans can delve further into Steig Larsson's world with a guided tour of historical Stockholm taking in the key points of reference from his book, or buy the Millennium map from the city museum and explore the city at their own pace. For more information or to book a Millennium experience visit www.visitsweden.com/citybreaks.

Alternatively hard-core Larsson fans can indulge in a complete Millennium package with Arena Travel on selected dates in 2011. As well as experiencing the Stockholm of Larsson's internationally acclaimed novels with guided tours, this special Millennium Trilogy exploration delves further into the literary world with two exclusive meetings: one with the film scriptwriters responsible for bringing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire to life on screen, and another with Stieg Larsson's publisher. Three night breaks with four-star accommodation is available from £969pp based on two sharing and travelling 29 April - 2 May 2011 or 16 - 19 September 2011. For more information or to book visit www.arenatravel.com

The ABBA guide to Stockholm
The Swedish foursome began their musical career in Stockholm, 1972, and went on to become one of the most successful acts in the history of popular music. They have since created the ‘ABBA guide to Stockholm', which lists 60 of the most important places in and around their hometown. The band frequently used Stockholm in their music, both orally and visually, so the guide provides a useful insight into where the most famous images relating to the band originated. In addition to this, the guidebook lists some of the biggest attractions in Stockholm and many popular entertainment venues like like Kungliga Slottet and Stadshuset. With a plethora of photographs, hotel listings, transport information and a detailed map, the book provides a comprehensive and interesting guide to the city of Stockholm. The book can be purchased online at www.amazon.co.uk.

New hotel in the West Sweden archipelago
Marstrands Havshotell (Marstrand Sea Hotel) opens on the island of Marstrand, a former playground of Swedish Royals, on 15 January 2011 offering a scenic getaway beside the water just 50 minutes from Gothenburg. The 98-room hotel includes a spa offering traditional treatments from the Bohuslän coast, incorporating the likes of seaweed, salts and hot baths; two restaurants (where menus include the local seafood), an outdoor terrace with seating for 150 people and fine views to sea and across the island, as well as nine conference rooms. Marstrand can be reached by car over a bridge connecting it to the mainland. Double rooms will start from 1895 SEK (approximagely £170) on a b&b basis. For more information visit www.westsweden.se.

New Nobis Hotel, Stockholm
Mixing luxurious features with contemporary design, the new Nobis hotel will be the second five-star hotel in the Swedish capital. Situated on Norrmalmstorg square, the hotel will occupy a prime position when it opens on 1 December 2010.

Guests will be able to enjoy maximum comfort, ease and efficiency in the historic, late 19th-century buildings with 201 rooms on offer. Catering primarily to modern business travellers, the chief architect has thought of every detail from the guest's perspective. Within the hotel there will be a public facilities area incorporating a spacious lobby and lounge, two bars, an Italian restaurant and a 24-hour bar and bistro which will be open around the clock. Not only will these public spaces be available for guests, but also for all Stockholmers and visitors. Outside of the interior beauty of the hotel, guests will be at the very centre of Stockholm, with a large selection of restaurants, shops, museums, sights and nightclubs all within easy reach. For more information visit www.nobishotel.se.

- Ends -

Notes to editors:
The following partners will be sharing the stand with VisitSweden:

DestinationsGöteborg Convention Bureau www.goteborg.com The West Sweden Tourist Board www.vastsverige.com Luleå Convention Bureau/VisitLuleå www.visitlulea.se Stockholm Visitors Board www.stockholmtown.comHeart of Lapland www.heartoflapland.com Destination Managment Companies (DMC)Nex www.nex.se Scandinavian Perspectives www.scandinavianpersectives.se Hotels/HotelgroupsElite Hotels of Sweden www.elite.se The Treehotel www.treehotel.se Kall Auto Lodge www.kallautolodge.se ICEHOTEL www.icehotel.com Hotel Hellsten www.hellsten.se TransportationArlanda Express www.arlandaexpress.com Norwegian Airlines www.norwegian.com Swedavia Swedish Airports www.swedavia.se

For more press information contact:
Ruth Haffenden / Susie Porsz / Angela Maini - bgb
T: 020 7902 2990 / E: rhaffenden@bgb.co.uk / sporsz@bgb.co.uk / amaini@bgb.co.uk

Philippa Sutton - VisitSweden
T: 020 7870 5604 / E: Philippa.Sutton@visitsweden.com

 

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