Sweden is taking steps to safeguard its identity, applying to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to protect its name from international duplicates that could mislead travelers seeking the authentic Swedish experience. The country is inviting people worldwide to support this effort and prevent travel confusion by signing an online petition.
Visit Sweden seeks to prevent travelers from confusing the eight places worldwide named Sweden.
Research from Visit Sweden* reveals that nearly half (45%) of UK travelers find it confusing when different destinations share the same name while planning trips, and 7% even admitted to traveling to the wrong location.
With over 7.4 million British travelers expressing interest in visiting Sweden, there is potential for more than 595,000 to end up in the wrong “Sweden.”
The trademark application is designed to prevent travelers from packing for Sweden’s scenic lakes and forests only to find themselves in a distant town sharing the same name but lacking the iconic Scandinavian charm.
Susanne Anderson, CEO at Visit Sweden said,
“It’s flattering that others want to be called Sweden, but we’d prefer if there was only one. Our Sweden. The one with the lakes, islands, forests, and the world’s best flat-pack furniture.”
