CEO Letter August 2025: Highlights from Next Skövde
Tourism and Urban Development Trends
This summer, we continued monitoring developments in Swedish tourism and urban development. Several cities are focusing on creating vibrant and attractive city centers through close collaboration between municipalities, businesses, and civil society. Sustainability is clearly being woven into this work, particularly through growing demand for nature experiences, activity-based tourism, and climate-smart events.
The tourism industry’s role in local and regional development is increasingly strengthened, both as an economic growth driver and as a crucial factor for attracting new residents. This development aligns perfectly with Vision Skövde 2040 and our mission to create attractiveness for the city and region.
Food Festival Success
The last weekend of August saw the traditional Skövde Food Festival, filling the city center with delicious food, live music, and great atmosphere. This year introduced a new ”Associations Square” where local organizations could showcase themselves. The festival featured:
- 26 restaurateurs offering food in 27 tents and food trucks
- 14 local food producers at Hertig Johan’s Square
- Over 30 program points across three stages
A jury awarded prizes in four categories, with Mattiasmat winning multiple awards. Over 250 volunteers were involved, and 375 children received face painting while raising 15,000 SEK for their class fund.
Winter SM Week Returns to Skövde in 2027
Skövde will again host the Winter SM Week in 2027, demonstrating the city’s capacity to deliver large-scale events. The previous SM Week in Skövde attracted:
- 100,000 total visits
- 37,500 unique visitors
- Total tourist economy of 43.6 million SEK
- Approximately 2,300 media articles
- 2.3 million TV viewers
The event will feature various sports including cross-country skiing, strength sports, dance, martial arts, ball sports, and motorsports.
Destination Development Highlights
Billingen Forest Theater
The Billingen Troll Forest saw exciting developments this summer, including:
- Digital forest walk downloaded over 1,100 times
- New theater performance with over 2,500 visitors
- 20 performances over two weeks
New Hiking Trails
Three new hiking trails were introduced on Billingen:
- Getaloven (13 km)
- Ramlaklevsrundan (21 km)
- Bergaklivet (19 km)
Over 12 kilometers of trails have been marked, supported by a 2 million SEK project grant.
Sommartorg Success
Sommartorg at Hertig Johan’s Square broke visitor records, attracting 21,700 people – an increase from 18,000 last year and 14,000 the year before.
