Skift Travel News Blog

Visit Sweden launched a new marketing campaign to remind the world to stop mixing up Sweden with Switzerland, the tourism board announced on Tuesday.

Called “Welcome to Sweden (not Switzerland),” the campaign kicked off with a playful message to Swiss public officials. In the video, Sweden proposes what the countries should promote to better differentiate themselves to end the confusion. Sweden, for example, proposes Switzerland talks about its financial banks while they talk about their sandbanks.

The campaign video includes a joke about U.S. President Joe Biden accidentally stating in 2022 that Switzerland was joining NATO instead of Sweden. Last year, 85,000 Google searches originating from the U.S. asked, “Are Sweden and Switzerland the same?” according to MyTelescope.

Many people can’t differentiate Sweden and Switzerland. About 50% of Americans can’t confidently tell the differences in Swedish and Swiss culture, according to a study commissioned by Visit Sweden.

The campaign also includes a dedicated webpage with key points on how Sweden’s different from Switzerland and a FAQ. “If people struggle to separate our two countries, we need to help them. We can’t change the names of our nations, but we can become more distinct,” said Visit Sweden CEO Susanne Andersson.

A Swedish advertising firm has created a ‘skin-friendly travel agency’ to combat the rising number of skin cancer cases in Sweden. 

The ‘Shadecation’ campaign, created by Wenderfalck on behalf of Sweden’s largest pharmacy, Apotek Hjärtat, aims to inspire Swedes to adopt healthier sun habits and challenge the way they approach their time in the sun. 

Originally featured on Ads of the World, the campaign video highlights that cases of skin cancer are up 100% over the last 20 years in Sweden – making the country the third most affected globally – which prompted the team to ‘inspire Swedes to spend their summer holiday in the shade and out of the sun.’

The cornerstone of the campaign is the ‘world’s most skin-friendly travel agency’, which showcases Sweden’s shadiest destinations. The campaign also features a number of experiential activations, including transforming Apotek Hjärtat pharmacies into travel agencies and an outdoor media campaign. 

You can take a look at the campaign website here (with a little help from Google Translate) and view the original campaign video on Ads of the World here.

EasyJet’s Peter Bellew has resigned as chief operating officer, following weeks of turmoil at the airline.

He has now left “to pursue other business opportunities” the airline said in a statement on Monday, effective July 1, as other European airlines prepare for a difficult summer ahead — including SAS which will now face widespread strikes after pilots voted on Monday to take industrial action.

Airport caps will also contribute to an already challenging period.

For now, David Morgan, easyJet’s director of flight operations, will lead the operations function in an interim role, reporting to CEO Johan Lundgren.

“The board would like to thank Peter for his hard work over the last two and half years and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” the airline said, adding it continues to operate up to 1,700 flights each day, carrying up to 250,000 passengers.

Meanwhile, pilots at beleaguered Scandinavian carrier SAS Airlines will be going on strike after their wage talks with the management failed to yield any results.

The strike is expected to impact 50 percent of all flights, or 30,000 passengers per day. Flights operated by SAS Link, SAS Connect and SAS’ external partners will not be affected.

“The decision to go on strike now demonstrates reckless behavior from the pilots’ unions and a shockingly low understanding of the critical situation that SAS is in,” said Anko van der Werff, the airline’s president and CEO, in a statement.

A strike at this point is also devastating for debt-ridden SAS which is in dire financial straits as a result of hefty debts.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the airline has its hubs in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. Sweden and Denmark both have 21.8 percent stakes in SAS. However, following the latest financial crisis, Sweden had refused to inject more money into the airline.