At the Environmental Protection Agency, climate change is already being noticed by the tree line moving.
– We can see in the southern mountains that the tree line is rising. Not so quickly, but quite a lot happens in 50 years, says Per-Olov Wikberg to SVT Sápmi.
Survey for companies
In order to prepare for the future, the Mountain Safety Council sent out a survey to the destination companies in the mountains in March. 24 responded and three out of four fully or partially agreed with the statement that “a changing climate will require more preparation from the visitor”.
– Together we have mapped out what we see as challenges in the coming years. Almost everyone considers climate adaptation to be an important part. A changed visitor pattern does not happen overnight, but gradually over time, says Per-Olof Wikberg.
Looks different
In concrete terms, it will not look like before in the mountains.
– It affects how we work with the mountain trails, how we build bridges and spans and how the routes are drawn. This needs to be done in collaboration with all actors and the Mountain Safety Council is a good forum, says Wikberg.
The milder winters in Europe and the rest of the world can also lead to changes in who visits the Swedish mountains, says Per-Olov Wikberg.
– We will probably also see a new type of visitor from other countries. Mainly winter time but also summer time.
The economy affects
The Mountain Safety Council measures the changes in the same way as the Public Health Agency did during the pandemic, using mobile traffic in the area.
There is already an impact on tourist flows, but not because of the climate so much as the deteriorating Swedish economy.
– We already see that tourists from southern Sweden choose the southern mountain areas in the first place, because it is expensive to travel far, says Per-Olov Wikberg.