Back in July, I spent a week in Stockholm with a local friend and also took a short trip to beautiful Vaxholm for an archipelago experience in a quaint-fishing village away from the hustle and bustle of “the capital of Scandinavia”. I really enjoyed my time exploring all that Sweden had to offer (and I certainly cannot forget the beautiful midnight sunsets!).
If I told you this picture was taken at 12:01 am, would you believe me?
If you’re American and haven’t visited Sweden yet (or if you love it and visit frequently), I have some good news to share:
It was just announced today that traveling to Sweden will soon be easy for Americans.
In 2015, Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport was named as one of the top 10 airports in the world, but I’m not just talking about the airport experience.
The real news is that the U.S. extended pre-immigration clearance negotiations to Sweden.
An agreement to put U.S. border control at Stockholm Arlanda Airport was signed just days ago on November 4 by U.S. and Swedish officials, which means that we will soon see processing facilities for U.S. Customs and Border Protection pre-clearance.
photo: cbp.giv
I personally am a huge fan of countries that take this initiative, and I like that during my recent travels to Aruba and Abu Dhabi, I was able to clear customs before even boarding my flight back home.
After a long flight, the last thing anyone wants to do is wait in a long line for customs (or in many of our cases, go through the extra step of visiting a Global Entry kiosk instead, #FirstWorldProblems). In general, expedited security procedures during entry and departure tend to make the overall traveling experience more positive.
What are your thoughts? Does a country that offers expedited procedures/convenience steer you to visit?
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