Sweden puts its countryside up on Airbnb

Quirky ad campaign a nod to nation’s longtime ‘ right to roam’ laws

SAN FRANCISCO Sweden has listed its entire countryside on Airbnb as a place anyone can hike, camp or even pick mushrooms and berries for free.

Not that this is a special offer available only to Airbnb users. Sweden, as well as the other Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland and Norway, has since the middle ages had rules allowing the public to freely roam the countryside. It’s called “allemansrätten,” or “everyman’s right,” and allows everyone access to the great outdoors. It applies to both public and private lands.

“You can camp or pick berries or hike everywhere, as long as you don’t come too close to houses or disturb fields or animals that are grazing,” said Jenny Kaiser, president of Visit Sweden, Sweden’s tourism agency.

It’s something like the 1976 California law that gave the pub- lic the right to walk on all California beaches. In Sweden’s case, it applies to the whole country.

Sweden didn’t have to pay for the listing, which should bring more people to Swedish Airbnb listings, Kaiser said.

The somewhat tongue- incheek tourism campaign includes a video by “Åke,” who offers a tour of the country, much as people put up video tours of their houses on Airbnb. “Here is my home. Roughly 100 million acres of land that is all mine. Well, I share it with 10 million other people, but I’m speaking on their behalf — so to speak,” the voiceover says.

The video includes views of “the bathroom” ( a forest) in “Swedish minimalistic style” and lakes, described as “100,000 tempered infinity pools.”

The quirky ad is reminiscent of Sweden’s “The Swedish Number” campaign a year ago, which for 79 days allowed anyone anywhere in the world to call the country and have an ordinary Swede answer the phone for a chat. Both are a way for Sweden to get noticed.

“We don’t have any big, iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben,” Kaiser said.

What the Scandinavian nation does have is tens of thousands of miles of forests, thousands of lakes and a long coastline.

“Being out in nature is an important part of our lifestyle. We want to welcome Americans to share that with us,” Kaiser said.

It’s something like the 1976 California law that gave the public the right to walk on all California beaches. In Sweden’s case, it applies to the whole country.

VISIT SWEDEN Most Swedes feel a strong connection to the land, and it’s common for families to go out mushroom hunting or berry picking as part of their yearly routine.