CEO Newsletter September 2024 – Update from Next Skövde’s CEO Mats Olsson

More Young People Want to Work in Hotels and Tourism

For the third year in a row, applications to hotel and tourism programs have increased significantly. The programs certified and quality assured by Visita have seen the highest demand.

Heinz Glöckler, project manager at Visita, notes: “We’ve seen this trend for three years now, with certified programs leading the way. They’ve developed their processes with the hotel industry helping schools market the range of jobs available in hotels.”

He believes many young people are attracted by modern hotels offering more than just overnight stays: “After the pandemic, hotels have become more of a destination with conferences, spas and so on. Hotels are good at making this visible.”

New Report Shows Need for More Hotel Rooms in Skövde by 2030

Next Skövde and Skövde Municipality, in collaboration with Annordia, have conducted a comprehensive lodging analysis identifying the future need for hotel capacity in the municipality until 2030.

Key findings:

• Hotel room demand in Skövde is expected to increase by 6.5% annually until 2030
• There is a need to add approximately 150 hotel rooms and 300 beds
• This represents a 20% increase from the current 730 rooms across 9 hotels

The growth is driven by major development projects and business establishments, including the expansion of the Armed Forces, the new battery factory in Mariestad, and the establishment of the new Skövde Science City district.

Skövde Invests in Welcome House for New Residents and Visitors

Welcome House Skövde is a new meeting place where newcomers, visitors, Skövde residents, and curious individuals can get tips, guidance and valuable contacts. Skövde Municipality and Next Skövde are developing Skövde Tourist Center into a combined visitor reception and relocation guidance center.

At Welcome House, visitors can get help with:

• Questions about housing, job market, education, schools, childcare, leisure activities and other community services in Skövde
• Tips on excursions, shopping, activities, events, nature experiences
• Maps and tourist information, souvenirs and books
• Ticket purchases for events
• CV assistance

Many Visitors Enjoyed Brilliant Sunshine During the Food Festival in Skövde

The food, music and great atmosphere were in focus during Skövde’s city festival, the Food Festival. A new addition this year was the small stage in Kyrkparken where artists offered music and entertainment.

Key facts:

• 24 different food tents and 23 restaurateurs participated
• 14 local food producers offered products at Hertig Johan’s Square
• Around 30 program items were performed on three different stages
• Approximately 125,000 visits were registered at the five entrances

Free Activities Attracted Thousands to Summer Square in Skövde

Summer Square in Skövde closed for the season on August 18 after 66 open days. It has been a fantastic summer with a total of 18,000 visits compared to 14,000 last year. The visitor pressure has been evenly distributed throughout the summer.

Emma Edqvist, destination developer for Skövde City Collaboration/Next Skövde, says: “It’s fun that the activities have attracted both young and old. I’ve seen older visitors with walkers playing the football game and our youngest visitors think balls and Lego have been very fun.”

Marketing of Cycling Experiences on Billingen

For the first year, we have now conducted a more unified campaign linked to our new cycling experience on Billingen. We have had several influencers visit, such as Roadtrip Sverige, Johanna (Snickarglädjen) Berglund, Happyride and Louise (Louilouie) Johannesson.

Print ads have been seen in SJ’s onboard magazine Kupé, MTRX onboard magazine Bon Voyage, Naturkompaniet’s magazine 365 and Outdoormagasinet which was published together with DN and DI.

Survey of Summer Visitors to Skövde

Key findings from interviews with 430 visitors to Skövde between June 15 and August 15, 2024:

• 2/3 of visitors come from Skaraborg or other parts of Västra Götaland
• The majority travel with partners and children, with an average age of 46
• 8 out of 10 have traveled to Skövde by car
• Half of the visitors stay overnight, with the most common length of stay being 3 nights
• The two main reasons for visiting Skövde are sports cups and Billingen
• 81% of visitors have visited Skövde before. 96% think they will visit Skövde again.
• An average visitor spends 778 SEK/day. Day visitors spend 459 SEK/day and overnight visitors 1,111 SEK/day.