Sweden is looking for tourists who don’t want to talk to anyone (and has created an agency for this purpose)

There are those who return from holidays with a thousand photographs, new friends and dozens of experiences to tell. And then there are those who, after a week of crowded beaches, endless queues and conversations with complete strangers, would need another holiday. Possibly without meeting anyone. If you belong to the second category, Sweden has something to offer you: a travel agency dedicated to introverts, where no one will force you to socialize, silence is not considered embarrassing and spending time alone is perfectly normal.

It’s called The Introvert Travel Agency and it’s the new idea from Visit Sweden, the national tourism board, which has decided to transform one of the most widespread stereotypes about Swedes, their proverbial reserve, into a reason to visit the country.

The agency, in reality, does not exist: it is an advertising campaign built with a lot of self-irony, but behind the joke there is a rather concrete idea. What if the perfect holiday was the one where no one expects anything from us, not even a conversation?

No idle chatter, no crowds: welcome to introvert paradise

In the commercial, an unlikely travel agent, dressed in blue and yellow, presents his offer: a single destination, naturally Sweden. The reason? The Swedes would have transformed personal space into a philosophy of life. On public transport, when there are free seats, you happen to see passengers with their bags on the next seat, while silence is not necessarily perceived as something to fill.

No one expects you to start a conversation while waiting for the bus, to tell a stranger about your day, or to find something to say just because you’re sitting together. Of course it’s all told by playing with cultural stereotypes, but the message works: not everyone wants to socialize continuously, not even when they’re on holiday.

Forests, lakes and thousands of islands: the luxury of not meeting anyone

What makes the proposal credible is not only the image of Swedes as reserved people, but also the geography of the country.

Sweden is one of the European states with the lowest population density and offers huge expanses of forests, lakes and sparsely inhabited territories. It also has over 267 thousand islands, many of which represent ideal places to get away from the rhythms of the cities and immerse yourself in nature.

Here slow tourism does not necessarily require a detailed program. You can walk along a path, spend a few hours on the banks of a lake, explore a forest or simply sit and observe the landscape.

There is also a tradition that facilitates this relationship with the environment: the allemansrätten, the right of access to nature, which allows you to cross and frequent most natural territories, including many private properties, as long as precise rules are respected and no damage or disturbance is caused.

It is a way of experiencing open spaces that makes experiences far from the most crowded tourist circuits possible, without necessarily having to resort to exclusive facilities or particularly expensive holidays.

And, as the countryside jokes, when you find yourself alone in the outdoors, your noisiest neighbor might simply be a bird

You can also drink coffee yourself (as long as there are sweets)

Then there is fika, one of the most beloved Swedish traditions: a coffee break accompanied by sweets, often shared with friends or colleagues. For Visit Sweden it is a perfect form of socializing for those who don’t like impromptu meetings. You choose a person, agree on a time, meet, eat something and then everyone calmly goes back to their jobs. But the best part comes later: if you don’t feel like company, fika can also be done alone. The desserts, however, remain absolutely recommended.

The holiday from the holiday: why the Swedish idea works

Behind the campaign there is also research commissioned by Visit Sweden to YouGov, which involved over 9 thousand adults in ten countries.

According to the survey, 41% of those interviewed define themselves as introverts and 67% prefer destinations where socializing is a possibility, not an obligation. 53% would even be willing to spend more to have more peace, privacy and less crowds.

Furthermore, almost half of those interviewed declared that they had at least sometimes felt the need for a holiday to recover from the one just ended. A paradox that we know well: we leave to rest and end up running from one attraction to another, anxious not to miss anything. Visit Sweden has intercepted precisely this desire to slow down, also creating a site through which you can discover places and experiences suited to your preferences.

Because, in the end, you don’t have to be an introvert to want a holiday without crowds, noise and schedules to respect. Sometimes happiness is simply a walk in the woods, a coffee in front of a lake and no one to come and ask you why you are so quiet