Sweden Boosts Travel With Trendy Tweets: The competition in the travel industry is pretty stiff, and competing with locations such as Rome, Italy or Paris, France can sometimes push smaller countries like Sweden into the background. However, Sweden has discovered a way to use Twitter to draw attention and interest to this Scandinavian country.
Although the tourism industry in nearly all countries, whether government sponsored or private, uses social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Google +, most of the comments there tend to be rather staid and stuffy. The key word here is ‘impersonal’. The travel linked comments are nearly identical from one location to the next, with little to set them apart or excite interest.
Sweden’s New Take
To combat the status quo and draw attention, Sweden turns over its Twitter travel account to a different person each week. This is a no-holds-barred approach to tourism and has drawn thousands of interested visitors to the @sweden site. Overseen by the Curators of Sweden, under the sponsorship of VisitSweden, which is Sweden’s actual tourism site, @sweden has drawn an incredible amount of interest since it became active.
No editing or censorship is used on @sweden, and those who hold the reins for the week can post literally anything they wish to. However, because it is one person per week, letting the world take a peek at their thoughts and life, it has made the site much more personal.
While some may find some of the hosts of the @sweden Twitter site offensive, giving everyone the opportunity to express his or her honest opinion has been a refreshing change for many people. Rebuttals and arguments can follow, but it all just adds to the mix and generates more interest in visiting Sweden.
Make Friends around the World
Swedish citizens, whether living in Sweden or abroad, are given one week to become the host for Twitter @sweden. Not only can the host let you know all about themselves and their lifestyle, but followers also have the chance to talk with them via Tweets. You can connect with a Swedish sheep farmer who also happens to be a DJ, or exchange news with an immigrant from Eastern Europe.
The chance to interact with such a variety of people has drawn thousands of visitors not only to the site, but to Sweden itself, providing a welcome boost in tourism dollars. While Sweden has continued to attract tourists in recent years, there have been concerns over the high prices for lodging, food, and services. To counter this concern, especially in a time when national economies are not in the best of shape, VisitSweden has found that their new Twitter page has helped to increase visits to the country.
Regardless of whether you ever plan to visit Sweden yourself, joining thousands of others at the @sweden Twitter page is not only a good way to expand your knowledge of the world and meet others, but is simply fun.
Conclusion
Whether this method will help attract more visitors or not is still to be seen, but one thing it is doing is giving the citizens of Sweden an active role in promoting tourism in their country and the more people that buy into this way of thinking the more powerful their social media campaign will draw.
Noc often uses social media to help with travel plans and uses Travel Advantage Network for lodging. Share your view on “Sweden Boosts Travel With Trendy Tweets” in the comment section below.
