Running head: DO GOVERNMENTS PLAY A ROLE IN A NORDIC TOURISM CONTEXT?
1
Do Governments Play A Role In A Nordic Tourism Context?
(Swedish Government’s Involvement In Its Tourism Sector).
Frederick Asare Duodu
International Tourism Management
Dalarna University
DO GOVERNMENTS PLAY A ROLE IN A NORDIC TOURISM CONTEXT? 2
INTRODUCTION
An evolved industry, Tourism has significantly contributed to the structural economic
development of both developed and developing societies in the 21st century. According to the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) current annual report, international
tourism saw a boost of 4.4% and a further 48 million more than in the previous year, setting a
new record totalling 1,135 million. Europe, especially northern Europe, southern and
Mediterranean maintained its seat as the most toured region with 17 million more arrivals
accruing a total of 584 million which produced US$ 509 billion in exports. (UNWTO 2014).
Over the past decade, tourism, particularly in the Nordic countries have yielded positive effects
in the labour market and provided massive revenues in the Nordic states. In Sweden for
instance, foreign visitors’ consumption in tourism’s export value strengthened by 7.5% in 2012,
amounting up to SEK 106.5 billion. This increase yielded more than in other sectors like iron and
steel transports and automobile exports (OECD, 2014). Furthermore, the tourism industry’s
