Swedes choose Southern Europe – despite the fires
Interest in travelling to Southern Europe does not seem to be decreasing despite the major fires in France and Spain.
“Flight tickets to Bordeaux are still being booked for the coming days,” wrote Catharina Solli, press manager at the airline Norwegian, to Swedish newswire TT.
Bordeaux is the Norwegian destination closest to the fires raging in Southern Europe. The airline is not seeing an increase in cancellations compared to previous years.
Neither have the travel companies that TT has been in contact with noticed that customers have cancelled trips due to the fires in France and Spain.
"During the period 21–27 July this year, the number of travellers booked to Spain has increased by 29 percent compared to the same period last year, to France we see an increase of 22 percent," Louise Jellvi, press communicator at the travel agency Ticket, told TT.
Travel expert Lottie Knutson says that this may be because most trips for the summer are already booked and that cancellations are expensive.
"Travel habits can also be long-lasting. Everyone knows that there are fires in Southern Europe, even if they are unusually scary this year," she said.
On Tuesday, French Trade and Tourism Minister Serge Papin, on the French television channel TF1, urged tourists to “not automatically” cancel their stays in the fire-stricken areas. He said he has high hopes of opening the evacuated areas, where the fire has not caused any damage, by August.
Swedish vocabulary: resebolag ‒ travel agencies.
Election voting begins for Swedes abroad
On Thursday, July 30th, Swedes who have moved abroad could start voting in the Swedish election.
Several parties have stated that this year they have invested in attracting this voter group, which has previously had a low turnout. The Sweden Democrats, for example, have targeted Swedes on the Spanish Costa del Sol, and both the Moderates and the Green Party have campaigned in London.
Swedes living abroad number around 220,000 people and the group is said to be able to decide elections. But this is mainly because some votes from abroad are only counted after election night – not because the voting group itself is large enough to usually be decisive.
According to Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg, the Swedes living abroad are a relatively small group, with only around 30 percent voter turnout.
"It's a very diverse and special group. It's everything from tax refugees to students," he said.
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He estimates that there are around 70,000–80,000 votes in this year's election.
The reason why attention is still being directed at Swedes living abroad is primarily that some of their votes are counted last, he said.
"They are part of the mandate ping-pong that may occur after the election. But then they go into a very large pile of votes that also includes late-arrived early votes from Sweden."
Swedish vocabulary: svenskar i utlandet ‒ Swedes abroad.
Acute risk of water shortage in Örnsköldsvik
A leak in a main water pipe means that there is an acute risk of water shortage in Örnsköldsvik.
Örnsköldsvik residents are urged to save water as much as possible.
It was on Thursday afternoon that the leak in a large water pipe that supplies Örnsköldsvik and nearby areas with drinking water was discovered, local newspaper Örnsköldsviks Allehanda reported.
Water levels are dropping drastically in the reservoirs and the municipal Environment and Water authority in Örnsköldsvik, called Miva, is now urging Örnsköldsvik residents to use water "smartly and sparingly" to the greatest extent possible.
Work to fix the leak is ongoing, but is being made more difficult by additional leaks in the same area, according to Miva.
Tanks with emergency potable water have begun to be placed.
Swedish vocabulary: vattenbrist ‒ water shortage.
Petrol price increases by 40 öre
Several filling station chains are raising their fuel prices after the oil price has risen once again.
The price of oil rose yesterday, with a barrel of North Sea oil costing over 90 dollars during the evening. This change in oil price affects prices at the pump.
On Thursday, fuel chains raised the price of gasoline by 40 öre and diesel by 55 öre, according to corporate prices, which are usually followed by equally large changes for private motorists.
The new petrol price for private customers will therefore be around 15.80 kronor per litre, while diesel will be around 20.20 kronor.
This can be compared to approximately 15 and 17 kronor per litre before the war in the Middle East started on February 28.
Swedish vocabulary: bensinpriset ‒ petrol price