Press Release August 1, 2018
When Swedes list their dream destinations in Sweden Icehotel is number one on their wish list, a new study shows.
– It feels great to be number one on the list and that Swedes dream about visiting Icehotel. Now when we are open year-round I believe that we also make it more accessible for Swedes to visit us, not just during the winter, but for their summer holiday, spring break or fall vacation, says Christophe Risenius, CEO at Icehotel.
Icehotel has existed for almost 30 years and attracts around 50,000 visitors from 80 countries each year. Last year, the year-round open part of Icehotel premiered and today the guests can spend a night in one of the 20 hand-sculpted suites of ice and snow, year-round.
Art made from ice and snow, award-winning food at Icehotel Restaurant, activities like river rafting and ice sculpting in combination with summer weather outside and winter temperatures inside have attracted visitors to Icehotel during the summer. Stepping inside -5°C has been especially popular this hot summer and many of the guests are from Sweden.
– About 70 percent of our visitors during the summer are from Sweden. It follows our predictions that more and more Swedes long to discover their own country. Some of our guests in summer combine their visit at Icehotel with hiking or fishing, says Åsa Ribbing, Head of Marketing at Icehotel. Soon, we are heading towards colder – and darker – times again and the season’s first northern lights attract guests to Icehotel.
– By the end of August, the nights are usually dark enough for us to witness the season’s first and often best northern lights. Soon after, the season’s first snow falls and the process of building 35 new suites of ice and snow begins on the riverbank, tells Carina Tjärnström who manages activities and adventures at Icehotel
Top ten – Tourist Attractions on the Swede’s bucket list
- Icehotel
- Kebnekaise
- Mountain hiking
- Gotland
- Treriksröset
- The King’s Trail
- Liseberg
- Sarek
- Abisko
- Österlen
Source: Sifo