Joint SWOT analysis of the Fehmarnbelt region
Awakening growth destination
Summary: The Fehmarnbelt region has a rich and diverse touristic
product that holds the potential to be one of Europe’s most
attractive growth destinations for both leisure and business tourism.
Not only does the region encompass three different national states,
it also spans many different sub-regions, each one with its own
cultural hallmarks, natural beauties and competitive business
clusters. The sea is the forces that has bound it all together - from
Hamburg and Lübeck , over the region’s vast and beautiful coast lines
to Copenhagen and Malmö. Soon also a modern infrastructure will
bind the region further together, and unfold a big potential for
growth.
However, there is a risk that with the new tunnel, the region will
become a transit corridor rather than an attractive tourist
destination in itself. This analysis shows that there are major
challenges that need to be addressed for the potential growth to
unfold and for the region to become Northern Europe’s most
attractive tourism destination.
Reading instructions: This analysis offers first a descriptive summary
of the different sub-regions, within the Fehmarnbelt region, followed
by the actual SWOT analysis. This SWOT analysis is based on the five
individual SWOT analyses. The SWOT analysis has been divided into
four main clusters with the purpose of creating an overview of the
main strategic opportunities and challenges the region faces. The
opportunities and challenges are discussed subsequently.
1.0 Descriptive analysis
From great metropolises ….
The two metropolises in the region offer vibrant shopping areas,
historic sites and an abundance of entertainment and cultural
activities from musicals to culinary excellence. Both cities have
experienced a boom in tourist arrivals since the beginning of 2000.
Hamburg and the surrounding Metropol Region is one of the most
diverse and economically competitive regions in Germany and
Europe and is furthermore one of the most visited cities in Northern
Europe. Copenhagen, although a major city, has a sense of ease to
Key facts:
Population: The Fehmarnbelt region 8.9
million; Hamburg 1.8 million;
Copenhagen 0.5 million.
International airports and flights:
Hamburg: 135 international flights of
which 6 are intercontinental
Copenhagen: 140 international flights of
which 24 are intercontinental
31 weekly flights between Hamburg
and Copenhagen (summer period)
Key developments:
Hamburg: ‘Hafen city’, including
Elbphilharmonie.
Copenhagen: ‘Nordhavn’ city
development, including new cruise
terminal and new city circle metro line.
Zealand: Costal tourism project e.g.
Panorama cycling cross border route
(Copenhagen -Berlin) and ‘Green
regional food experience’ project.
Scania:’Lund Science Village’ and new
Convention Centre in Malmö.
Top 10 attractions (no. of visitors
2011.):
Tivoli garden (Cph.)
3,963,000
The people’s park (Sca.)
2,857,000
Dyrehavsbakken (Cph.)
2,500,000
Hansa Park (Sch.)
1,300,000
Zoo Copenhagen
1,152,000
Lund’s Cathedral (Sca.)
780,000
Lalandia Aqua dome (Zea.)
750,000
Dunker’s house of culture (Skå) 540,100
Alster & Harbor excurs. (Ha m) 539,000
Aquatic Center Fehmarn (Sch.) 480,000
Key source markets bednights 2011
(mm)*:
Germany
1.928
Sweden
1.152
Norway
920
Denmark
878
Great Britain
765
The Netherlands
670
USA
554
China
145
Japan
134
*Ex. domestic bednights in the
respective national areas
Total bednights (Fehmarnbelt region)
58.8 mm. hereof 11.1 internationals
bednights (19%) during 2011
Top 5 Events/festivals (no. of visitors):
Hamburg DOM festival
10,900,000
Kieler Woche (Sch.)
3,000,000
Christmas market (Ham)
1,800,000
Harbor birthday (Ham)
1,800,000
Malmö Festival
1,400,000
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everyday life, and the city has also repeatedly been rated the world's most livable city by the well-known
business magazine “Monocle”.
Water and green sustainability are key assets for both cities and the entire Fehmarnbelt region. With its ‘Hafen
city’ project, Hamburg is literally expanding the city center into the sea, whilst Copenhagen is undergoing a
similar exercise with its ‘Nordhavn’ city development project. Both cities are popular cruise destinations and
have recently established new cruise terminals. When it comes to green development the whole region is
among the global frontrunners – Hamburg with the Green Capital Award in 2011 and Copenhagen city with a
goal to become CO2 neutral by 2025.
… to wildlife and sprawling beaches
In Schleswig Holstein, Germany’s northernmost state, the tourists have the choice between two coastlines:
The coasts of the North and Baltic Sea with scenic lighthouses, proud sailing ships and green dikes tell
everyone of the rich maritime history of the country. Seven islands, ten islets, historic towns and quaint
villages invite you to explore and relax. The same is the case for the East Danish islands of Zealand, Møn and
Lolland-Falster, which are characterized by picturesque towns, ancient history, water, nature and authentic
experiences. It is a region full of contrasts. Cosy little towns give way to open spaces, woodlands, meadows
and dramatic stretches of coastline on Stevns and Møn, where the white cliffs are up to 128 meters high.
Scania (Skåne), the southernmost province of Sweden, is Sweden’s gateway to Europe and occupies a central
position in Northern Europe, boasting rich, varied wildlife and an exciting cultural life. With three national
parks, it is the ’nature-based playground’ for the surrounding regions. Scania is, furthermore, one of Europe's
leading educational and scientific centers.
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2.0 Joint SWOT analysis
The SWOT analysis of the Fehmarnbelt region below is a summary of the 5 individual SWOT analyses
of the Hamburg Metropolitan region, Schleswig Holstein region, Region Scania, The Capital region of
Copenhagen and Region Zealand. Focus in the SWOT has been on joint strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. These have subsequent have been divided into four main clusters: The
tourism product/destination, Infrastructure, Financial/political issues and Inter/- intraregional issues.
Internal analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
The tourism product/destination:
The tourism product/destination:
High diversity of recreational, active and
High dependency on domestic/few source
authentic tourism products
markets
Thousands of km coastline – many beach resorts
High seasonality
Rich cultural heritage (incl. UNESCO world
Fragmentation of tourism products
heritage attractions and sights)
Low quality of accommodation (in some
Cutting edge sustainability and green
regions)
development
Weak international image as a tourism
Attractive shopping metropolises
destination
Rich ‘maritime’ history and development ( e.g.
Few internationally well-known landmarks
‘Hafen city’)
Infrastructure:
Booming cruise industry
Lack of traffic and efficient infrastructure
Strong position within event development
between the Danish and German regions
Safety - safe destinations
Hamburg City airport - not an intercontinental
Infrastructure:
hub
Good accessibility (CPH a main hub,
Expensive direct flights between Hamburg and
Öresundbridge)
Copenhagen
Inter- and intraregional issues:
International cross border initiatives (e.g.
international bicycle routes, Öresund event
strategy)
Geographical proximity within the Fehmarnbelt
region
Inter- and intraregional issues:
Linguistic and cultural challenges
“Mental” gab/distance
Located on the outskirts of Europe
Financial/political issues:
Limited sponsor market for e.g. development of
events
External analysis
Opportunities
The tourism product/destination:
Develop and package attractive clusters of
tourism supply (e.g. Health/wellness tourism,
cultural heritage, culinary tourism)
Take advantage of the maritime history to
create joint activities and to profile the region
Use events and the existing knowledge to
develop cross-border events
Attract mores cruises
Expand, upgrade and diversify the hotel capacity
Expand/develop “Technical visits” (with a focus
on sustainability)
Threats
The tourism product/destination:
Closure of the Lübeck regional airport
Hamburg has failed to internationalise its
tourism visitor portfolio
Infrastructure:
Increase of crude/energy prices
Inter- and intraregional issues:
Inter-regional increased competition will
threaten the weaker regions
Lack of inter-/ intra-regional cooperation
The Fehmarnbelt connection will be a highway
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Infrastructure:
Increase the infrastructure between the 5
regions (e.g. high-speed trains, low-cost direct
flights)
Inter- and intraregional issues:
Heighten the knowledge inter-regionally and
bridge the mental gap (e.g. by extensive
marketing campaigns)
Strengthening of the synergies within the
Metropolis Region Hamburg.
Create one strong brand encompassing the
Capital Region of Copenhagen and Region
Zealand
from Hamburg to Copenhagen – risk that the
other Fehmarnbelt regions will be overlooked
Financial/political issues:
Lack of financing/sponsorship opportunities
Lack of public engagement/funding
Lack of political focus on and support to the
tourism industry
Tourist visitor tax
National budget constraints
Lack of support from national tourism board for
cross border cooperation
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3.0 Conclusions and main focus areas gained from the SWOT analysis
3.1 Summary of joint SWOT
The Fehmarnbelt region is characterized by two strong Metropolises and the regions around them. The
Metropolises and regions surrounding them face different challenges and opportunities in order to fully
benefit from the increased tourism potential as a result of the coming fixed link.
The surrounding regions are facing the risk of visitors just passing through. A major challenge is to exploit the
potential for ‘stop-over’ tourism and create more ‘reasons to go’ for visitors from the other regions. A current
fragmented and highly seasonal tourism product (and in some areas a product of a low standard) further
challenges the potential for growth.
The motivation for ‘exchange tourism’ between the two Metropolises seems low and is further challenged by
lack of efficient infrastructure. There is a need for strong ‘awareness campaigns’ in both Metropolises to
increase interest and ‘exchange tourism’.
The Fehmarnbelt region overall has a weak international image as a tourist destination with few international
well-known landmarks. Improving the overall image and internationalizing the tourist visitor portfolio will
demand an improvement of the quality of the tourism product. Focus for future product developments should
be on tourism products where the region possesses strong products/clusters that have a demographic and
historical advantage and an obvious field for close corporation between tourism partners in the region. This
stresses the need for further cooperation among partners in the Building Tourism network.
3.2 Introduction – main challenges and opportunities
To unlock the immense growth potential for tourism, culture and business in the Fehmarnbelt region, that the
coming fixed link will undoubtedly bring, a number of issues need to be addressed. The joint SWOT analysis
highlights both a number of opportunities and challenges. When looking at the joint SWOT it is should be kept
in mind that it is a huge and diverse region with many local/regional differences. Whilst these regional
differences are highlighted in the individual SWOTS, the overall challenges and strategic opportunities for the
whole Fehmarnbelt region are discussed below. These have been divided into the 4 main clusters.
3.2.1 The tourism product/destination
The main challenges facing the tourism destination overall are described below:
1) Over-dependency on domestic markets: For the whole of the Fehmarnbelt region (with the exception
of Copenhagen) there is an over-dependency on the domestic markets and a few other nearby
markets. Even Hamburg with a booming tourism industry has failed to internationalise its tourism
visitor portfolio.
2) High seasonality: The percentage of leisure bed nights is considerably higher than no. of MICE
(Business tourism) bed nights overall in the region. At the same time there is a high seasonality
dependency (with the exceptions of the Metropolises) due to the leisure product predominantly being
based on recreational and beach resort tourism products – this in a region with considerable unstable
weather conditions.
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3) Low quality product: In addition, the leisure tourism products (particularly outside the metropolises)
are quite fragmented with few internationally well- known landmarks, and (in areas) of a low standard.
The reliance on domestic markets and the leisure product combined with a high seasonality makes the region
quite vulnerable. To internationalise the visitor portfolio and extend the season (e.g. by attracting more
business tourism), there is a need for product development and improvement of the quality of the tourism
product, in particular the accommodation sector.
Cluster of tourism products
There lies an opportunity for product development by building and expanding tourism products where the
region possesses strong products/clusters that have a demographic advantage and where there is an obvious
field for close cooperation.
This could be in the fields of:
- Health and wellness tourism, particularly strong and sought after in Germany;
- Event development, using the existing platforms (e.g. food, fashion, music) to create joint/crossborder events. The Öresund region in particular holds a strong position and experience within event
development, and also Hamburg;
- Cultural heritage tourism , using e.g. the Viking or maritime themes, music/musicals themes or the
monarchies;
- Technical visits, focusing on green growth and sustainability;
- Active tourism, taking advantages of the recreational and nature/wildlife possibilities (e.g. biking,
watersports, hiking);
- Culinary tourism, local/regional produce, “New Nordic Food”.
Cruise industry
Furthermore, there lies an opportunity in taking advantage of the booming cruise industry. Both Hamburg and
Copenhagen are located by the waterfront and both have a strong ‘maritime‘ history and a booming cruise
sector with several cruise terminals. Also the port in Kiel has experienced a boom in the cruise sector, and with
the establishment of a new cruise pier Kalundborg is trying to attract more cruises to the region. Expanding
the cruise product in the Fehmarnbelt region is an opportunity to attract more international tourists to the
region.
3.2.2 Infrastructure
The main current infrastructural challenges are described below:
1) Lack of traffic: Currently there is a lack of traffic and efficient infrastructure between the
Danish/Swedish and German regions. There are no low cost flights between Copenhagen and
Hamburg. This, together with a lack of motivation for ‘exchanged’ tourism between the cities, has
resulted in very limited tourism flow between the Metropolises.
2) Lack of co-campaigns on growth markets: At the same time the lack of efficient infrastructure limits
the possibility for long haul growth markets to explore the whole Fehmarnbelt region.
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There is an opportunity to increase the infrastructure more by developing e.g. high-speed trains and attracting
more low cost flights. This will further heighten the interregional tourism business potential, whilst the
potential for co-campaigning on long haul growth markets (e.g. air route development) should be explored
further in order to increase international tourism.
3.2.3 Inter-/intraregional issues
The fixed link can be a threat to some regions in the Fehmarnbelt region:
1) Regions will be overlooked: There is a risk that the fixed link will strengthen the ‘exchange’ tourism
between the two metropolises whilst the other regions will be overlooked – visitors will drive past.
2) Increased interregional competition: Increased interregional competition will threaten the weaker
destination. There is a risk that e.g. Zealand will lose out to the German destinations, offering a higher
quality product at a lower price.
The potential for “stop-over” tourism in the corridor on both sides of the coming link needs to be explored.
There are examples from Spain where this have been successfully implemented.
Call for joint regional cooperation
Furthermore, to fully exploit the increased tourism potential interregionally (‘exchange tourism’) there is a call
for joint regional cooperation. In Germany there lies an opportunity to strengthen the synergies within the
Metropol Region Hamburg, whilst on the Danish side there is a need for creating a stronger brand
encompassing the Regions of Zealand and the Capital Region of Copenhagen.
Despite a geographically close proximity between the regions in the Fehmarnbelt region, there seems to be a
mental gap/distance. Hence, there is a need for extensive marketing/awareness campaigns to be developed in
order to bridge this mental gap, and to fully exploit the new opportunities and create more ‘exchange
tourism’. This highlights the need for a strong joint regional corporation and a continuation of the work done
in the Building Tourism network.
3.2.4 Financial/political issues
The Fehmarnbelt region is also constrained by regional and national challenges such as:
1) Lack of political focus and support in the Swedish region
2) Tourist visitor tax and national budget constraints in Germany.
3) Lack of support from the national tourism board in Denmark for cross border cooperation.
These constraints can be difficult to overcome. Highlighting tourism as a means for economic growth and
development and the creation of jobs towards regional and national bodies could improve the conditions for
the tourism sector.
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4.0 Methodology
4.1 Desk research and interviews
The SWOT analysis is based on desk research (see the various sources used below) and expert interviews. The
following persons have been interviewed:
-
Lars Bernhard Jørgensen CEO, Wonderful Copenhagen
Claus Bjørn Billehøj, Head of Division, City of Copenhagen
Eskild Hansen, Direktør, Strategibureau EHSB
Jens Friss Jensen, Lector, Roskilde University
Johan Hermansson ,CEO, Malmö Turism
Henrik Gidlund, Project Manager, Event Skåne
Emma Håkansson, CEO, Helsingborg Tourism
Dr. Rolf.-Barnim Foth, Ministery of Economy; Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Mr Hary Puls, Director Customer Relations; AIDA cruises ; www.aida.de
Dietrich von Albedyll, CEO Hamburg Tourist Board
Dr. Malte Heyne, deputy CEO, Chamber of Commerce Hamburg
Thomas Magold, Chairman Hamburg Tourism Association
Christian Schmidt, Director of the Tourism Agency Schleswig Holstein;
4.2. Sources
-
www.visitcopenhagen.com;
www.wonderfulcopenhagen.dk;
www.visidenmark.com;
Turismens økonomiske betydning I Hovedstadsområdet, VisitDenmark 2011;
Monocle, july/august 2012;
The city of Copenhagen Bicycle Strategy 2011-2025,City of Copenhagen;
Top 300 Danish Attractions 2011, VisitDenmark
www.regionsjaelland.com;
Sjælland ser klynger i kølvandet på Femern-broen. Magasinet Ejendom, april 2012;
Turismen i Regions Sjælland, VisitDenmark 2010;
Turismeprofil, Visitdenmark 2008;
www.visiteastdenmark.com;
Strategi for grænseoverskridende turismeudvikling. Ostdansk Turisme & Ostsee Holstein Tourismus
e.V., October 2010
http://www.hamburg-convention.com;
www.statistik-nord.de
http://metropolregion.hamburg.de
www.wikipedia.com
www.skane.com
www.helsingborg.se
www.malmo.se
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-
‘Skåne I Siffror. Om turismen i Skåne, juni 2012. Tourism in Skåne
’Inkvarteringsstatistik december 2011’. Skane.com
www.lunduniversity.lu.se
Skåne i siffror 2022. Tourism in Skåne, april 2012
Different attractions’ individual websites
www.sh-tourismus.de
http://www.ostsee-schleswig-holstein.de
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