SkiStar AB: Growing interest in summer holidays in the Swedish and Norwegian mountains

The possibility to spend time together on an active holiday attracts many guests to the Swedish and Norwegian mountains also in the summer. The wide and varied offerings of activities such as lift-assisted hiking and biking, exciting events and challenging competitions for all levels provide for fun for everyone.

Last summer saw an all-time high in sales of summer lift passes in both Sälen and Åre, an indication of a growing interest in active holidays in the mountains in the form of lift-assisted biking and hiking as an integral part of the stay. New research now points at even stronger interest in outdoor activities in the future, especially in mountain and  downhill biking, shorter walks and hikes (1-3 hours and one-day hikes) together with adventure sports and bicycle competitions*.

- When we have asked people in general which activities they think will grow in importance over the next ten years, many of them mention mountain biking and shorter hikes/walks. Many also believe in a growth in different kinds of events and competitions in the mountains, says Sandra Wall-Reinius, one of the researcher behind Etour’s new report on visits and visitor patterns in the Swedish mountains.

- Previous research has also shown that summer visitors to the mountains to an increased frequency look for comfort and the possibility to combine various activities with comfortable accommodation and gastronomic sensations, says Maria Lexhagen, researcher at Etour.

- We share the impression of the growing interest in this particular form of activities holidays that the Swedish and Norwegian mountains can offer also in the summer.  Our activities portfolio including bicycling, hiking and adventure sports events is well in line with the most popular pastimes and where interest is expected to grow even more in the future, states Linda Wasell, PR Manager, SkiStar.

Sälen ventures even more into bicycling for all age groups and skills levels. In addition to the downhill biking in SälenBike Park, there are 108 km of marked cross-country trails and 160 km of marked roads for on-road biking. This summer will also see a wide selection of training camps and competitions such as mtb-camp, Springtime Travel Training Camp and the adventure race Aim Challenge. The traditional and highly popular CykelVasan is back on 14-17 August inviting a genuine biking festival and the same classic route between Sälen and Mora will also provide for the first edition of the trail-running event UltraVasan on 23 August. Besides these events, here is also easy mountain hiking for all the members of the family and various fun attractions at Experium.

The summer season in Åre started on the National Day, 6 June with SummerTest and Party and from Midsummer, Åre Bike Park will be in normal operations. At the peak of the summer season there will be heapsof activities and competitions around the lifts VM6:an and VM:8an. Beginners and those aiming to improve their technique are recommended to visit Åre Bike Guides based on the square in SkiStarshop Åre Torg. Some of the great summer events are Åre Extreme Challenge on 28 June, Girls Only Downhill Camp featuring Inspire Us on 27-29 June, Åre Bike Festival 2-6 July and the novelty Åre Mountain Festival on 6-10 August.

In Trysil the events include Trysil Rittet on 4-6 July and NM i Elgskyting 13-20 July while the mountain is open for lift-assisted hiking and biking every Saturday from 21 June.

Hemsedals scenic nature is perfect for fabulous hiking, fishing and bicycling. Activities here also include biking camps – cross-country as well as downhill. Come September the time has come for Aim Challenge and the Norwegian Downhill Cup.

*Besök och besökare i fjällen, report 2014:3, Etour at Mid-Sweden University.

For more information:
SkiStar’s Press Service
press@skistar.com
+46 280 841 60