As Astrid Lindgren’s World in Vimmerby, Småland closed its gates yesterday the new record was a fact. 460, 604 guests have visited the park during the 2011 season, a record number of visitors.
5 different visitor records were set during the season; the record of highest number of visitors for the year being the jewel in the crown. This Combined with the 5 different distinctions that the park received this year makes 2011 the most successful year in the 30-year history of Astrid Lindgren’s World.
The SEK 55 million investment in Ronja the robber’s daughter and the new matt’s forest, along with the purposeful investment in local produce and having the food be a part of the overall experience, are two of the main factors of the success that are being emphasised by the company, along with a fantastic effort by the staff.
“An absolutely fantastic year! I am very proud and happy that almost half a million people have chosen to travel to Vimmerby to visit us. It is an incredible feeling that we during a year when we made our single largest ever investment in the new matt’s fort, smash the record for our weekends, autumn half-term and entire season while at the same time being named ”the best experience in Sweden” by the foreign market and receiving the Trip Global Award. This is validation that the Swedish people and our more than 125, 000 foreign visitors appreciate our work”, says Mikael Ahlerup, Managing Director at Astrid Lindgren’s World in response to the new visitor Record at Astrid Lindgren’s World.
The Autumn half-term with handicraft market in Astrid Lindgren’s World has become a tradition when it comes to rounding off the year of activity in Vimmerby. It is an investment in a genuine Småland autumn market focusing on local traditional food and handicraft culture, reminiscent of markets in Småland in Earlier times. This year’s half-term drew 22, 829 visitors, smashing the previous record from 2010 by 6, 800 visitors.
“This shows that our decision to invest long-term in September weekends and the Swedish half-term proved to be a sound one. This year we opened up the park for the entire break and added a string of new activities in an attempt to draw more visitors. Strengthened by this we now look forward to moving ahead with our goal to become one of the country’s foremost half-term destinations outside of the big cities. Astrid Lindgren’s World should be represented high up on the list when Scandinavian families plan their autumn half-term in the future”, Mikael Ahlerup continues in response to the visitor record set during autumn half-break that made smashing the total record for the year possible.
