Over the past year, Sweden has made some changes to improve the tourism experience. For instance, Sweden is now extending pre-immigration clearance to Americans (aka Global Entry kiosks), and I personally found the country to be extremely welcoming, safe, and accessible during my visit last summer.
In a first-ever partnership between a tourism board and Airbnb, Visit Sweden has partnered with Airbnb to turn the entire country into an Airbnb listing, in a unique way to showcase that all of Sweden’s publicly owned land is entirely free and accessible to everyone!
Sweden’s freedom to roam concept is based on a constitutional guarantee known as the Right of Public Access, which is a unique institution. The literal meaning of the Swedish term of the Right of Public Access, allemansrätten, is ‘everyman’s right’. It provides anyone living in or visiting Sweden the freedom to roam just about anywhere in the countryside (private gardens and lands under cultivation being the only exception) as long as there is no disturbance or destruction of property or the environment.
While you can’t actually “book” any of these public locations directly on Airbnb, each listing gives detailed instructions on how to get there as well as reviews from other travelers:
Overall, I think this is a unique approach to encourage and inspire tourists to consider visiting the off-the-beaten-tracks and untouched areas of Sweden. I think the “freedom to roam” right is a beautiful way to extend an invitation to and welcome all those who want to visit, as many Swedes regard the Right of Public Access as part of a cultural heritage, sometimes even as a national symbol.
It’s interesting to see a partnership with Airbnb, though I can’t really see the benefit for Airbnb yet.
Have you visited any of these locations in Sweden before? What do you think of the Airbnb and Visit Sweden partnership?
It’s all about the marketing. What an innovative approach.