Business Ambassador of the Year 2021

Why we like it:
"With an ambition to develop Österlen into Sweden's most attractive tourist destination, österlen.se inspires, informs and attracts visitors to our part of the world all year round."

"It's funny with prizes and awards – they don't feel that important, until you're standing there as the laureate," exclaims Noak Karlsson, the spider in the web of österlen.se.

When the business gala took place at Nordic Sea Winery in Simrishamn on Thursday evening (November 11, 2021), österlen.se was honored with the Business Ambassador of the Year award, in our opinion the finest award you can win in Simrishamn municipality!

"The award feels like an acknowledgment that the municipality appreciates our work more and more," says Peter Carlsson, österlen.se.

– It feels fantastic that our work, with marketing Österlen and all the fantastic entrepreneurs, is being recognized, interjects an exuberantly happy Christian Esbjörnsson, österlen.se.

"Ever since we started, we've gone against the grain. When all other tourism organizations in the country had invested in marketing their destinations abroad, we chose, as the only player, to focus on the Swedish market. It has been a cornerstone of our investment, a strategy that has aroused even more interest in these times when the Swedes suddenly became the only target group that had the opportunity to visit Österlen, Christian continues.

And of course, it feels like Österlen has had a bit of a new renaissance in the wake of the pandemic! Rarely has Österlen attracted as many visitors as in recent years and even on the internet the interest in Österlen has increased exponentially.

"The number of visitors to our website has broken new records every month – without exception. Last spring, Simrishamn trended as Sweden's most sought-after holiday destination on Booking, and on Google, österlen.se had more than a million views during the month of July, says Lars Rabe, website manager at österlen.se.

"And that's not all! It's extra fun that the influx of people to the municipality has also taken off! Many who register here in the municipality have gotten to know Österlen as tourists. But this is just the beginning, there will be more soon! Noak Karlsson reveals with a sly look.