Before a guest can choose you, they need to know you exist. At VISIT Summit 2026, three very different speakers explained why being different is the fastest way to get there, and why the Nordics often charge too little for it.
Known before chosen
Visit Sweden cannot buy global awareness on the scale of the biggest destinations, so it creates news instead. Campaigns like the Swedish Prescription reached some 1,800 articles in 70 countries. The point was not the stunt itself, but that something genuinely new gets written about, and something familiar does not.
Kristina from Visit Sweden illustrated it with a study. An audience was shown a film of cows grazing in a field and a reel of commercials. They felt more for the cows. If you use the same words and pictures as everyone else, you become less engaging than cows in a field.
The Nordic blind spot
Erik Nissen Johansen from Stylt Trampoli argued that Nordic operators are blind to how unusual their own surroundings look from the outside. Nature, silence, light and space are becoming premium experiences for a world that is moving into cities, and they are often priced like extras.
His example was an outdoor bed at Pater Noster, bookable only a few nights a year when the weather allows. It sells at SEK 18,000 a night and has a waiting list. A simple press release with free images to a handful of journalists led to coverage in Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure.
Booking.com’s view of the market pointed the same way. Guests are heading north for cooler summers, and Christina Jacobsen’s advice was to show it: nature, calm, seasonal activities and easy access to the outdoors.
Own one square foot
VISIT Reputation made the idea practical. Do not try to be the answer to every question. Find the one small thing you can own. Icehotel holds a modest share of voice across Swedish travel overall, but is the number one answer for winter activities in certain destinations. Being the obvious answer to one question is worth more than being a possible answer to many.
What to do
- Write down what a first-time visitor from far away would find most unusual about your place.
- Avoid the words and pictures everyone else in your category uses.
- Price the experience, not the room, especially for things only you can offer.
- Pick the one question you want to be the answer to, and build your content around it.
Heard in: Building Global Attraction (Visit Sweden) · The Nordics, the Brightest Futures in Global Tourism (Erik Nissen Johansen, Stylt Trampoli) · Worth a Special Journey (Mario Bellinzona, VISIT Reputation) · Winning the Nordic Guest (Christina Jacobsen, Booking.com)