GÖTEBORG & CO ANNUAL REPORT 2010

MEET THE WORLD IN GOTHENBURG ............................... 4GOTHENBURG’S IMAGE ................................................... 7GROWTH FOR THE 19TH YEAR IN SUCCESSION .............. 9A YEAR OF MEETINGS THAT BROKE ALL RECORDS ...... 10CRUISES – A HOT TRAVEL TREND ................................. 13GOOD YEAR FOR AIR TRAVEL ........................................ 14BEYOND THE NORDIC MARKET ..................................... 16STIFF COMPETITION FOR EVENTS ................................ 18CULTURE FESTIVAL DRAWS BIGGER CROWDS THAN EVER ....................................... 22TEN-DAY SCIENCE FESTIVAL ........................................ 24PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS ............................................ 25DESTINATION CAMPAIGNS IN PARTNERSHIP ............... 26SPINOFFS FROM WHEEL ............................................... 31SWEDEN’S BEST CITY GUIDE.COM ................................ 32SUSTAINABILITY GIVES COMPETITIVE EDGE ................ 34HOW THE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PRESS SEES US ... 36CITY & INDUSTRY IN PARTNERSHIP ............................. 38AND THE WINNER IS … .................................................. 40IN BRIEF … ..................................................................... 42ORGANISATION .............................................................. 44EMPLOYEES AND THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT ......... 45FINANCIAL REPORT ....................................................... 50

CONTENTS

Our entire business is essentially about encouraging meetings between people. Whether this takes place in an organised form or spontaneously, it is what tourism is all about. People meet at a stadium during an event, at a concert or at the theatre. It can also involve en-counters with cultures different to your own that leave a lasting impression.

A professionally organised congress is naturally a completely different type of meeting than the chance encounter on holiday. Congresses are also an important and growing part of trade and industry in Gothenburg. This was understood almost a hundred years ago when the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre and Liseberg amusement park were first built.

In the second half of 2010 the Swedish Exhibition Centre was fully booked, and consequently hotels and restaurants throughout the city were also booked up. International congresses such as IFLA, ECTRIMS and EADV chose Gothenburg in the same year as national medical and dental conferences were held here. The result was that infrequent large gatherings coincided with others that are held every two or three years.

This turned what had been a weak first half of the year into a real bonus from summer onwards.

Congresses and events provide a reason to travel for many people. Others may travel to visit an exhibition, festival or some other unique event.

Gothenburg has been skilful at exploiting its natural assets to this end, and been successful. The Way Out West festival in Slottsskogen city park is one example, and the Swedish Touring Car Championship at Frihamnspiren is another. To crown it all off there are the Gothenburg Christmas City illuminations and Liseberg Christmas market. Both came close to record visitor numbers in 2010, as did the Culture Festival, with a fantastic 925,000 visits.

The foundations for many of the successes of 2010 were laid several years ago. Attracting a big interna-tional congress is the result of patient and persistent efforts to win over organisers, with decisions often being made four or five years in advance. The same applies to major events. The foundations for success in the second half of this decade are being laid now. Gothenburg has a good reputation as a city for

MEET THE WORLD IN GOTHENBURG2010 started and ended with harsh winters. In between, it was a year of meetings, however. Never before have so many people visited Gothenburg to take part in a congress or fair. This was one of the main reasons that tourism showed growth for the 19th year in a row.

The 1923 world exhibition attracted 4.2 million visitors and was held to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the city. Liseberg amusement park, the Swedish Exhibi-tion Centre, the Museum of Art, the Botanical Garden and Torslanda Airport were all created at this time. It marked the establishment of Gothenburg as a city for tourism, meetings and events.

GOTHENBURG’S DEVELOPMENT AS A CITY FOR TOURISM, MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Being involved in the development of a city is a mas-sive responsibility. It is not just the buildings that last for centuries. The ideas and perceptions that create the image of a city can also live on for a very long time.

The last 20 years have been a successful journey for Gothenburg. Much of this success has been achieved thanks to a climate of partnership, which in turn has existed for much longer. This attitude will become even more important in the years to come when the city is to establish a new position. Partnership is not just a word, it is one of the competitive advantages of the city. The most important individuals in this partnership are perhaps the people of Gothenburg themselves.

One of the main aims of the work of Göteborg & Co is to act in the best interests of the people of Gothen-burg, but also for the city as a destination, since the people of Gothenburg are the best ambassadors for the city. The industry we work in, the tourism indus-try, benefits the people of Gothenburg. It enhances our quality of life. But growth in tourism and the de-velopment of Gothenburg as a destination also create many jobs for residents of the city.

It is now ten years until Gothenburg celebrates its fourth centenary. This is enough time for us to jointly create a vision for 2021 and, through wise investment, secure our position in the future.

Sabine Söndergaard, CEO, Göteborg & Co (from 15 November 2010)

PARTNERSHIP MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

tourism, meetings and events. This is part of the city’s brand. Music is another aspect of this brand, and artists such as Håkan Hellström mean a lot to Gothenburg.

A number of new airlines have introduced flights to Gothenburg in 2010.

These are vital for trade and industry and for hotels, restaurants and venues. The availability of direct flights is one of the first things an organiser of a congress or event asks about when considering host cities. An integrated network of flights to the major cities in Europe is therefore an essential element of our infrastructure.

This does not conflict with our commitment to a sustainable city, which we also began working on seri-ously in 2010. We are very good at organising green meetings and environmentally certified events in Gothenburg, and we will continue developing these. Gothenburg has a very promising sustainable future.

Leif Nilsson, CEO, Göteborg & Co (until 14 November 2010)

Gothenburg has a tradition of hosting centenary events that leave a lasting mark on the city. The city’s 400th anniversary will likewise serve as a focal event for the continuing development of Gothenburg and the region as a whole. Organising a 400th anniversary that focuses on the future requires a plan that takes into account the needs of Gothen-burg as a whole and has the best interests of the people of Gothenburg at heart. Göteborg & Co has been entrusted to direct and co-ordinate the process of producing the centenary plan, including a vision, goals, strategies, activities and projects.

1920

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1958

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1963

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1971

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1974

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1976

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1979

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1980

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1982

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1984

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1985

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1985

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1992

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1994

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the G

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1994

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1995

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letics

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1997

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1998

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2000

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2001

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2001

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2001

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2003

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A large number of people help to build the image of our city and bear the message of Gothenburg in one form or another. Göteborg & Co has been assigned by the city to assist with the marketing and development of Gothenburg as a destination. The company works actively and purpose-fully in this role to build the image of Gothenburg and create a strong brand.

This brand is created through all our contacts with the outside world: in our marketing communications, in the product we offer, in situa-tions where others encounter the brand and, not least, in the way that customers, tourists and visitors are greeted by the people who repre-sent Gothenburg. Our desired image is therefore shaped by everyone, everywhere. This means we are all part of the brand and destination Gothenburg.

The current perception of Gothenburg is of an open, friendly and reliable city. This is the image that tourists, organisers, decision-makers and other members of our target audience have of Gothenburg, accord-ing to various surveys carried out over the years. We are open and wel-coming – but not always as surprising or interesting as we might like.

Development is rapid, and as a consequence Gothenburg is undergo-ing big changes. A completely new generation is taking its place and developing new, creative and mould-breaking technology, advertising, architecture, music and fashion. This in turn will play a part in shaping the desired course of the Gothenburg brand. Gothenburg must be per-ceived as offering: “attractive and inspiring experiences with a human face”.

To strengthen and develop the Gothenburg brand even further Göte-borg & Co invites other stakeholders in the destination to collaborate on marketing. Companies and organisations that are part of destination Gothenburg can help to build tomorrow’s image of a familiar, positive and attractive destination.

“The first step is to identify the unique assets that are the essence of a destination’s appeal and which can be built into a strong identity. Building these assets into a compelling and authentic identity is the key to success.”

(The Power of Destinations)

GOTHENBURG’S IMAGEThe image of Gothenburg is important in giving the city’s residents pride in their city and ensuring they enjoy living here. It is important for attracting visitors to the city and it is what attracts companies to set up business here.

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due to the increased strength of the Swedish krona.In total, there were over 3,369,000 overnight stays

by guests in the Gothenburg region in 2010.

2010 – A YEAR OF MEETINGSThe positive trend in the Gothenburg region is largely due to an increase in business travel. From June to December there was an almost unbroken series of large international gatherings, and the number of delegate days was double that of 2009, with a total of 225,000 days yielding a turnover of SEK 800 million from the tourism economy. The many big international and national congresses that took place in the second half of the year, combined with Gothenburg’s growing popularity as a Christmas destination, contributed to healthy development in 2010. International congresses are also an important reason behind the big increase in international guest nights reported above.

There was also good growth in the number of flights. Traffic through Landvetter Airport increased by 12 per cent overall and the number of international passen-gers increased by 14 per cent.

GOOD START TO 2011Indications from the hotel trade show a positive trend for the first few weeks of 2011. Landvetter Airport reported its best January ever, with a 21 per cent rise in the number of travellers compared with the same month in the previous year. There are several uncer-tain that could come into play in the coming year, however, including financial concerns in euro coun-tries and rising interest rates. Hotels in Gothenburg found themselves fully booked for a period in 2010. This naturally makes it impossible to increase figures any further during such periods. New hotels that will increase accommodation capacity will be completed in 2012/2013 and will only then be able to contribute to additional guest nights.

The graphic identity of the city is one of several important cornerstones in the creation of a strong brand, and helps to shape the image we want to project to the outside world. An integrated graphic identity creates a professional impression and reinforces our messages in a positive way.

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Following the recession of the last few years, tourism in Europe grew in 2010. Sweden followed the same trend. The total number of guest nights at all commer-cial accommodation in Sweden rose by three per cent compared with 2009. Another welcome development is that overnight stays by foreign visitors to Sweden in-creased by 4.1 per cent. 2010 was also a year of growth for the larger counties. In Västra Götaland the number of guest nights at hotels, youth hostels and chalet vil-lages rose by 4.5 per cent.

Stockholm county showed a corresponding increase of 6.7 per cent and the county of Skåne showed a rise of 0.9 per cent.

STRONG SECOND HALFThe tourism year got off to a weak start in the Gothen-burg region, with a fall in the number of visitor nights in the first few months. The turnaround came in sum-mer, and the situation quickly improved in autumn. The busy events calendar for August, which included the Culture Festival and Way Out West music festival, attracted large numbers of visitors, and the autumn months brought more big meetings and congresses.

The result was that the final months of the year brought a real upswing in the number of commercial visitor nights. For 2010 as a whole, the number of guest nights spent in Greater Gothenburg rose by five per cent. By comparison, Greater Stockholm reported an annual increase of 6.9 per cent, while Greater Malmö reversed the trend and showed a 0.5 per cent decrease.

In the Gothenburg region the number of guest nights spent by Swedish visitors showed the largest absolute increase, with roughly 100,000 more than in 2010. This can be seen as a further sign of the recovery of the Swedish economy. In relative terms, the number of non- European visitors rose by almost 50 per cent. There were also big increases from Germany, Spain and France. On the other hand there were fewer visitors from British, Danish and Norwegian markets, probably

Since 1991 the travel and tourism industry in the Gothenburg region has shown real growth in the number of guest nights each year, regardless of the state of the economy and general GDP growth. This trend continued in 2010 with an increase of five per cent. Uninterrupted growth of this type over such a long period is probably unique among European metropolitan regions.

GROWTH FOR THE 19TH YEAR IN SUCCESSION

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There are clear advantages to holding a congress in Gothenburg: the short distances between congress ven-ues, hotels and restaurants. Many organisers discover this when they come on a site visit for the first time. The big focus this year has been on delivering quality events, so that the city can attract new congresses based on good reports from those held recently. In the four surveys of delegates that have been carried out to date, Gothenburg scored six out of seven for its overall impression as a destination for meetings.

HOTELS FULLY BOOKEDThe Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre has been very well utilised as the main venue. At times, almost every hotel in Greater Gothenburg was fully booked. This meant very busy periods for every sector that is linked to the visitor industry – hotels, restaurants, shopping and transport – and created valuable jobs. The second half of the year was especially busy. For hotels, this meant an increase in turnover and guest nights for 2010 as a whole, despite the sector showing a slump in the first six months.

RESEARCH AT SAHLGRENSKA THE KEYMost of the big congresses are medical. In order for international organisers to consider holding a congress in Gothenburg, the city must be home to prominent researchers with networks within the respective organisations. The research done at the Sahlgrenska Academy is the main foundation for attracting such conferences to Gothenburg.

Two of the largest international meetings that have ever been held in Gothenburg took place in autumn:

ECTRIMS, which focuses on treatment and research in multiple sclerosis, and EADV, a five-day congress for dermatologists. Both these meetings brought together almost 14,000 delegates from all over the world. In addition, many other smaller conferences were held simultaneously at different venues in the city. The combined effect over a period of barely two weeks was the largest ever gathering of international delegates in Gothenburg. In November and December the city also hosted the two largest national conferences of the year, the Annual Dental Congress and the AGM of the Swed-ish Society for Medicine, which drew around 17,000 delegates.

ORGANISERS IN THE SPOTLIGHTGothenburg and West Sweden are mainly marketed and promoted as hosts for meetings outside the Nordic region, for example at trade fairs and workshops such as EIBTM (Barcelona), IMEX (Frankfurt) and C&IT Forum (London). These are all opportunities to make contact with leading organisers of congresses and corporate meetings. Sales trips have also been made to various countries where visits are arranged with congress agents. Several site visits were organised in Gothenburg for agents from other countries to show off the city’s potential for hosting meetings, during which visitors had the opportunity to meet key representa-tives of the meetings industry in Gothenburg.

A new partnership, known as the Swedish meet-ing incentive group, has been established with other Swedish regions with the aim of marketing Sweden to the German market as a host country for meetings.The plan includes marketing and activities such as road shows, site visits, web advertising, etc.

A YEAR OF MEETINGS THAT BROKE ALL RECORDSGothenburg set a record as a congress city in 2010. The number of delegate days associated with meetings was twice as high as the previous year, which generated economic revenue of SEK 800 million.

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FIRM COMMITMENT TO MARKETING Eight years ago, the city had five cruise stopovers, while bookings for 2011 have already reached 45 ves-sels. As ships become larger, the number of passengers has also grown. Gothenburg is Sweden’s third most popular cruise destination after Stockholm and Visby. In just five years Gothenburg has doubled its number of stopovers. In other words the growing popularity of cruises is not the sole explanation for the upward trend in Gothenburg. The increase is also a result of active collaboration between the Port of Gothenburg and Göteborg & Co. It is part of an assertive marketing campaign to put the city on the map as a popular cruise destination.

SOURCE OF REVENUEThe average cruise tourist spends about SEK 800 during a one-day stopover. This year’s 51,700 cruise tourists have spent over SEK 40 million on shopping,

CRUISES – A HOT TRAVEL TRENDCruises on large passenger ships are the fastest growing travel trend in the world. In association with the Port of Gothenburg, Göteborg & Co has been running a project to make Gothenburg an attractive destination for cruise ships. This has exceeded all expectations and in five years the city has doubled the number of stopovers.

transport, meals, visits to museums and tourist attractions during their visits. Revenues from port fees add to this total. Of this year’s cruise passengers, 37 per cent were Germans, 27 per cent British, 6 per cent other Europeans, 18 per cent Americans and 12 per cent from other parts of the world.

PLANS FOR NEW CRUISE TERMINALThe goal is that passengers should disembark as close to the city as possible. A new cruise terminal was opened in Frihamnen in 2009. This year, 25 cruise ships moored there. Others were unable to pass under the Älvsborg Bridge and therefore had to moor up at Skandiahamnen.

In readiness for the 2011 season the Arendal wharf near the Volvo Museum is being refurbished and will be used solely by cruise ships. The new cruise terminal will provide an attractive setting with a café, land-scaped area and marina.

MORE CAPACITY NEEDEDA total of 114 meetings were arranged in which

Göteborg & Co played a role. Some were held in venues around the region, but most took place in various venues in Gothenburg. Premises used in addition to the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre included Chalmers Univer-sity of Technology, the University of Gothenburg and sev-eral hotels. The number of delegate days, in other words the time that conference delegates spend in the city, was double that of the previous year, at 225,000. Expenditure by delegates totalled SEK 800 million.

Three new hotels are planned for the next few years: Posthotellet, the Radisson Blue at Lindholmen and the third block of Gothia Towers. These will provide the ad-ditional conference and hotel capacity that is needed to host similarly large meetings in the future.

GLOBAL CONGRESS IN 2012In autumn it was confirmed that Gothenburg will be the location for another big global congress for health and medical care. Astra Tech, based in Mölndal, will host a meeting on dental implant technology on 9–12 May.

Astra Tech carries out most of its research and production in Mölndal, where 1,500 of its 2,200 employees work. Astra Tech Dental is now one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of den-tal implants. The congress will bring together 3,000 delegates at the Swedish Exhibition Centre, including participants from the Sahlgrenska Academy, where successful research in dental implant techniques was first carried out in the 1980s.

Cardiovascular Spring Meeting (April)

EADV Dermatology (October)

IFLA Library Association (August)

Surgery Week (August)

Swedish Society of Medicine AGM (December)

FEBS Biochemistry (June)

Prosecutors’ AGM (November)

SICOT Orthopaedic Surgery (August)

European Soc of Human Genetics (June)

ECTRIMS MS (October)

World Cong of Sociology (July)

Deontological AGM (November)

VIND (September)

1 250

1 900

1 550

5 007

3 530

1 600

2 500

1 460

7 300

9 000

6 300

1 200

6 800

MEETINGS IN 2010 WITH MORE THAN 1,000 DELEGATESNUMBER OF CONGRESSES: 114

PREVIOUS STOPOVERS AND PASSENGER NUMBERS

2000 9 3 4002001 13 3 6002002 5 2 4002003 13 5 5002004 18 14 2002004 20 12 7002006 18 11 3002007 23 11 4002008 18 12 4002009 34 36 0002010 41 51 700

The British cruise ship Balmoral sailed into the Port of Gothenburg on 3 December. On board were one thousand Brits looking forward to new experiences and a chance to enjoy Gothenburg’s Christmas festivities.

HELLO: Olle Larkö, professor and dean of Sahlg-renska Academy, and chairman of the 19th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereol-ogy (EADV), held in Gothenburg on 6–10 October. This was one of last year’s largest congresses, and drew 7,300 delegates from all over the world.

How long did it take to bring the congress to Gothenburg?

“The first attempt was ten years ago, when we lost to Amsterdam. We took up the baton again in 2006 and this time it went our way.”

What swung the decision in Gothenburg’s favour?“Several things. Our own research was the main

reason, and I also happened to be on the board of EADV. We also received very professional support from

Göteborg & Co. There was some debate at the start about which city in Sweden we should put forward, but we managed to agree to put in a bid from Gothenburg.”

What does a congress like this mean for research in Gothenburg?

“It’s a signal that we do internationally recognised research, and hopefully it provides a small surplus that can be used for grants and the like.”

And what is its significance for researchers at Sahlgrenska?

“It means greater exchange with international researchers and it gives our researchers tremendous exposure. Some of them have become well known as a result, so it means a great deal.”

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Being located in northern Europe and surrounded by water, air travel is often the only option for travellers from outside the Nordic region. A good range of direct flights is therefore essential for hosting international congresses and events. Without flights it would not be possible to grow as a destination for foreign markets.

Ambitious, long-term efforts in the air travel market have contributed to positive development. Gothenburg always has a presence at the annual Routes conference, which is a meeting point for all the world’s airlines.

MANY NEW ROUTESCo-operation between Göteborg & Co, Swedavia and Business Region Göteborg in 2010 helped to add several new destinations and increase the regularity of flights. Britain’s second largest airline, easyJet, opened three new routes from Göteborg Landvetter Airport in 2010, to London Gatwick, Berlin and Manchester. In late November, British Airways opened a new route to London Heathrow.

The Gothenburg-based City Airline launched seven new routes in 2010: Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Bergen, Stavanger and Umeå. Most airlines, including Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and City Airline have also increased the frequency of their existing services.

BIGGEST INCREASE AT LANDVETTEROf all Swedavia’s airports, Göteborg Landvetter Air-port accounted for the largest percentage increase in passengers in 2010. A total of 4.1 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, an increase of 12 per cent over the previous year.

The airport is now looking to the future, with major investments in its Airport City, the first stage of which is now under construction, as well as a revamp of its passenger terminal. In the longer term, the airport will also get its own rail link.

Göteborg Landvetter Airport has also become one of eight airports in Europe to receive the highest climate ranking.

Gothenburg’s second international airport, Göteborg City Airport, is presently served by three commercial airlines. This airport has also introduced new routes: to Edinburgh, Rome, Kaunas, Brussels and Paris with Ryanair; to Gdansk and Belgrade with Wizzair; and to Visby with Gotlandsflyg.

EXTENDED PARTNERSHIP IN 2011In 2011, the air travel partnership between the city and Swedavia will continue and be extended to include the West Sweden Tourist Board and Visit Sweden. This will further enhance West Sweden’s status and the attractiveness of the new air routes.

GOOD YEAR FOR AIR TRAVELIf Gothenburg is to grow as a destination it requires an extensive network of direct flights. This is a high priority. In 2010 there was tremendous growth in air travel and more passengers than ever passed through Landvetter.

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GOTHENBURG AT THE WORLD EXPOBy the end of the World Expo in Shanghai on 31 October, 73 million people had visited the spectacu-lar event. Two days earlier, Gothenburg and various partners including Visit Sweden and Swedavia, invited Chinese tour operators and the media to a “Christmas Day” gathering at the Swedish Pavilion. This was the first time Gothenburg had arranged an on-location event to attract more tourists from China.

65 invited tour operators and journalists had a chance to learn more about our city and about Swed-ish Christmas traditions. The target market included tourist groups and technical or study visits. The latter are very popular and involve offering visitors a themed programme that includes visits to new residential areas or projects in sustainable energy, transport logistics or waste management, for example.

GREAT POTENTIAL IN RUSSIARussian tourism to Sweden is growing, but so far mainly to Stockholm and the east coast. A lack of direct flights to Gothenburg has meant that travel to the re-gion has not yet taken off. In 2010 however, Göteborg & Co took part in a workshop in St. Petersburg and in-vited Russian organisers on a site visit to Gothenburg.

Collaboration with Visit Sweden and the Swedish Em-bassy in Moscow will continue in 2011, in an effort to open up Gothenburg to the massive Russian tourism market.

GETTING GOTHENBURG IN THE BROCHURESCanvassing travel operators entails outreach work at trade fairs and workshops, often in partnership with the West Sweden Tourist Board, to encourage major operators to include Gothenburg and West Sweden in

their brochures. Breaking into new markets takes time, but can sometimes produce immediate results, such as an initiative in Spain at the start of the year. Some successful examples are German Detour, British Sun-vil, Dutch Buro Scandinavia and Spanish Exit-Tours, where we achieved good exposure.

GASTRONOMIC TOURISMIn February, Gothenburg was visited by representa-tives of Delice member cities in conjunction with the Kungsfenan award ceremony. This was a well-publicised and popular culinary week that turned the spotlight on fish and gastronomy. The Delice network of “good food cities of the world” gives Gothenburg the opportunity to exchange ideas with prominent colleagues from every corner of the gastronomic world. Cities with culinary traditions learn from each other and three-star chefs have the opportunity to swap experiences and act as guest chefs at Gothenburg restaurants.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS OF WHICH GÖTEBORG & CO IS A MEMBER:

» European Cities Marketing (ECM): the largest tour-ism network in Europe. Around 130 of the biggest European cities are members.

» Delice – Good food cities of the world: started by Lyon, it now comprises 18 member cities, which aim to develop gastronomy as part of tourism and travel.

» International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA): a worldwide organisation supporting the meeting industry, with 960 members.

BEYOND THE NORDIC MARKETOutside the Nordic region, Göteborg & Co carries out marketing initiatives and activities primarily aimed at travel agents, event organisers and tourists who have an interest in city breaks. The main focus in 2010 was in Germany and Great Britain, but also in new markets such as Russia and China.

A SELECTION OF MARKETING CAMPAIGNS OUTSIDE THE NORDIC REGION:

» Swedish Cities – now in its third year, this campaign focuses on Germany, Great Britain and Italy, and aims to attract more people to Gothenburg and Stockholm on city breaks.

» 100% Echt – in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, designed to increase tourism by rail from Germany to West Sweden and Skåne.

» Airlines – several campaigns have been conducted on different themes and in different seasons in co-operation with new and existing airlines, to spread awareness of Gothenburg as a city break destination and as a gateway to West Sweden.

» The real Sweden – travel operator Sunvil focuses on package holidays for discerning tourists in Great Britain. A campaign ran in spring to boost travel in August.

» Carplus vacation – aimed at Volvo customers in the USA who personally pick up their new car in Gothenburg and often combine this with a holi-day trip. The campaign aimed to encourage them explore every part of West Sweden.

Campaign material produced in Chinese to promote Gothenburg in Shanghai.

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Competition between events cities has increased conside-rably in the last few years, and this affects us. Increasing demands are made of host cities, in the form of financial commitments and a need for modern stadiums. Careful analysis is needed before taking on a big event. The city is presently conducting feasibility studies for possible applications to host the World Equestrian Games in 2018 and the European and World Athletics Championships in 2018 and 2021.

TRENDS IN SPORTAction sports on land and in water are increasingly popular sports events. The brand value of this type of event is growing, and they tend to attract a younger audi-ence. Göteborg & Co is in touch with most such events and many new ones are being planned. New concepts are also growing in popularity in established sports. In recent years Gothenburg has hosted several championships in snowboarding, beach volleyball and wakeboarding.

FESTIVALS AND CONCERTSMusic and cultural events remained popular in 2010. Ullevi Stadium hosted two concerts, by Green Day and

Pink. At the Scandinavium arena, Björn Skifs made a guest appearance and Håkan Hellström attracted a capacity audience. Way Out West returned to Gothen-burg for the fourth time. The 25,000 visitors were able to enjoy another glorious festival in Slottsskogen city park.

During the Metaltown festival in June, problems were discovered at Frihamnspiren. In autumn Göte-borg & Co worked with the organisers to find a suitable alternative site for next year’s festival, which will take place in Säve. This will be the first trial of a new concert venue on Hisingen.

“AND THERE WAS LIGHT”One of this year’s big events was the interactive art exhibition “And There Was Light” at Eriksbergshallen, with many works by great Italian Renaissance masters, including Raphael, Michelangelo and da Vinci. Gothenburg received widespread coverage in the inter-national press thanks to the exhibition.

Gothenburg has a unique track record in attracting major events. It takes com-mitment and dedication to consolidate and build on Gothenburg’s strong posi-tion. Several successful rounds of events have been organised in recent years. At the same time we carry out feasibility studies for big future events, mainly in the sports arena. We have also continued to develop music and cultural events in the city following the recent success of Way Out West.

STIFF COMPETITION FOR EVENTS

EVENTS CONFIRMED IN 2010

» Orienteering World Cup Final 2011

» Swedish Mountain Biking Championships 2012

» Finland-Sweden Athletics International 2012

» Swedish Orienteering Championships 2013

» Women’s EURO 2013

» World Men’s Floorball Championships 2014

UNDER CONSIDERATION

» JVM Ice Hockey 2013

» Orienteering World Championships 2015

» 100 km Orienteering 2016

ANNUAL ACTION SPORT EVENTS

» Gothenburg Rail Battle (snowboarding)

» Chalmers Big Jump Open (snowboarding)

» World Challenge (arm wrestling)

» Swedish Beach Tour (beach volleyball)

» World Cup 10 (dance)

» Cyclotrons

20 21

JANUARY

Gothenburg Ice Hockey Cup 2–5/1Gothia Floorball Cup 3–6/1P3 Guld music awards Scandinavium arena 19/1Depeche Mode Scandinavium arena 26/1Göteborg Int Film Festival Draken 29/1–8/2Chalmers Big Jump Open 30/1

FEBRUARY

Samsung Gala Scandinavium arena 2/2Song Festival Scandinavium arena 19–20/2Göteborg Horse Show Scandinavium arena 25–28/2

MARCH

Swedish Women’s Curling Championships Gothenburg Curling Hall 6–7/3Cardiovascular Spring Meeting Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 7–9/4World Challenge Arm Wrestling 8/3And There Was Light Eriksberg 20/3–15/8TUR travel & tourism fair Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 25–28/3

APRIL

International Science Festival Gothenburg 20–25/4

MAY

GAS – Göteborg Art Sounds Festival 2010 5–9/5FIM Swedish Speedway Grand Prix Ullevi Stadium 8/5HBT festival Gothenburg 12–16/5Yrkes-SM Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 19–21/5Göteborgsvarvet Half Marathon 22/5Hammarkullen Carnival 28–30/5

JUNE

STCC – Gothenburg City Race Frihamnspiren 5/6Green Day Ullevi Stadium 5/6GKSS sports association 150th anniversary Långedrag 5–6/6Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Slottskogen city park 6/6Citizenship ceremony Slottsskogen city park 6/6Swedish National Day 2010 Slottsskogen city park 6/6European Society of Human Genetics Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 12–15/6

Metaltown/WestCoastRiot/Pier PressureFrihamnen 17–20/6Wedding on the Wheel of Gothenburg 19/6Wold Cup football qualifiers (women) Sweden vs. Azerbaijan Gamla Ullevi arena 23/6FEBS Biochemistry Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 26/6–1/7East Indiaman Götheborg at Stenpiren 28/6–14/8

JULY

World Youth Games, athletics Ullevi Stadium 2–4/7Partille Cup, handball Gothenburg 6–11/7World Congress of Sociology Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 11–17/7Gothia Cup, football 18–24/7Pink Ullevi Stadium 23/7

AUGUST

Masters Swimming 27/7–7/8Gothenburg Culture Festival 10–15/8IFLA Library Association Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 10–15/8Way Out West Slottsskogen city park 12–14/8Gothenburg Dance & Theatre Festival 20–28/8Gothenburg Aero Show Säve Depå 28–29/8Surgery Week Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 30/8–4/9SICOT Orthopedic Surgery Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 30/8–4/9

SEPTEMBER

Book & Library 2010 Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 23–26/9VIND windpower conference Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 15–19/9

OCTOBER

Night of Culture 1/10EADV Dermatology Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 6–10/10ECTRIMS MS Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre 13–16/10

NOVEMBER

Håkan Hellström Scandinavium arena 6/11Prosecutors’ AGM 15–16/11Annual Dental Congress 18–20/11Gothenburg Christmas City 12/11–9/1Art Installations in the cityChristmas at Liseberg 12/11–23/12

DECEMBER

Swedish Society of Medicine AGM 1–3/12Gala for inspiring individuals Lisebergshallen 30/12New Year’s celebrations at Götaplatsen 31/12

EVENTS CALENDAR 2010

22 23

In 2010, Gothenburg Culture Festival attracted 925,000 visits to more than 1,000 programme events. This is almost twice as many as in 2007, when it began as a city festival, but was then extended to visitors from all over the region.

According to a survey of visitors, the audiences were very satisfied, while press reports described the event as a popular cultural festival with a great atmosphere, held in a city that is safe and reassuring.

The benefits of the Culture Festival have become clearer. It pro-vides an important meeting place for everyone, regardless of age or background, and 67 per cent of visitors say they take more interest in Gothenburg and cultural activities in the region as a result of their visit.

One of the main goals of the Culture Festival has been to counter segregation by providing wider opportunities for people to meet. This is done in various ways. One means used in recent years is the voluntary 15–25 Hospitality project. Another is to provide free admission to the festival venues.

An environmental diploma scheme during the Culture Festival encourages companies involved to offer organic products and dispose of waste correctly, and steps are also being taken to prevent littering.

The 2010 survey showed that an increasing number of visitors come from locations outside Gothenburg. Of these, 68 per cent said the Culture Festival was their main reason for visiting. In total, visitors gen-erated SEK 148 million in revenue, mostly spent on restaurants/cafés, shopping and outdoor activities.

Planning is already underway for the fifth anniversary Culture Festi-val on 16–21 August.

CULTURE FESTIVAL DRAWS BIGGER CROWDS THAN EVERGothenburg Culture Festival is one of the highlights of the year. It is unique in its kind, attracting thousands of visitors each year, mainly from the city and surrounding region. Göteborg & Co has organised the event since its inception, assisted by several partners and stakeholders.

24 25

The Internet lets us make contacts across the world, but to maintain and develop relationships nothing beats a meeting in real life. Gothenburg has a very good reputation for promoting both business and personal relationships.

Professional organisers of congresses appreciate Gothenburg as a city for meetings, as well as the service they get here. But meetings are also spontaneous experiences.

Contact with the tourist office is often the first impression a tourist gets of a city. The tourist offices in Gothenburg received over half a million visits in 2010. They also dealt with over 30,000 enquiries by telephone, chat or twitter.

When big events or congresses are held in Gothen-burg the tourist office staff are on hand at the venue or the airport. When the Port of Gothenburg received more cruise ships than ever in 2010 our tourist information officers were there to greet visitors at the terminal.

Professionally organised congresses are big meet-ings in their own right and always get especially posi-tive reviews, thanks to the way that Gothenburg greets delegates. Friendliness and commitment to good service are hallmarks of a visit to our city.

An encounter, a friendly smile, a pleasant answer to a question. Hospitality and personal encounters are part of the overall impression of a destina-tion. Gothenburg has a good reputation as a city for meetings, but this also extends to personal encounters between people.

NEW GUIDESGothenburg’s authorised guides are a great asset in personal encounters with our visitors. They can be booked for bus tours and walking tours, and play a key part in conveying the image of Gothenburg as a city for visitors. In 2010, 19 new guides were authorised after completing training, and a similar number were re-authorised, a process that active guides must repeat every five years.

RESIDENTS ARE THE CITY’S BEST AMBASSADORSThe city’s big annual gathering is Gothenburg Cul-ture Festival. This is a free city festival that welcomes everyone. The Hospitality 15–25 project enlisted over 200 young residents of Gothenburg to act as hosts dur-ing the Culture Festival. They were given hospitality training and then served as officials during the week of events.

But the individuals who contribute most to the im-age of Gothenburg as a friendly and welcoming city are the people of Gothenburg themselves. Several surveys and reports have described Gothenburg as a city where people talk to each other on trams, or where anyone studying a map will quickly be asked if they need help. This is something we need to preserve and regard as one of our destination’s best assets.

The International Science Festival on 19–29 April turned Gothenburg into a knowledge hotspot on the theme “For Change”. Over a six-day period central Gothenburg was abuzz with debates, workshops, exhibitions and activities that were open to everyone. The school programme lasted a few days longer. The Science Festival has developed into an all-year activ-ity, although the main festival and school programme still take place in spring. This year, the event attracted 70,000 visitors and 30,000 students on the school programme. The latter is undoubtedly the biggest gathering of its kind in Europe for schools and the research community.

The public venue in the Nordstan shopping centre drew 3,000–4,000 visitors each day, more than ever

before. The Science Festival would not be possible with-out support from academia, research-based organisations and the business world, for example. Great speakers and hosts play a valuable role in making the event so inspir-ing, creative and credible for visitors.

The 2010 festival unfortunately coincided with the Ice-landic ash cloud that paralysed air traffic. Nobel Laureate Ellie Ohstrom consequently had to deliver his lecture by electronic link, but it also led to the addition of new pro-gramme items on volcanoes and meteorology.

The 2011 International Science Festival, on the theme of Creativity, starts on 3 May with the school programme, while the main programme runs from 10 to 15 May.

TEN-DAY SCIENCE FESTIVAL

PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS

26 27

SUMMER CAMPAIGNFor the summer season the city was marketed in Sweden, Norway and Denmark as “Summer hotspots in Gothenburg”. The campaign ran in partnership with Liseberg amusement park, the Universeum Science Discovery Centre, Stena Line and hotels. A summer magazine was distributed in all three countries and is estimated to have had 4.5 million readers. The campaign was divided into four parts: magazine, print, advertisements, PR and web. It was aimed at families with children.

AUTUMN CAMPAIGNAn autumn campaign was run in co-operation with several performance stages in Gothenburg. Direct mail and magazine advertisements were used to promote Entertainment Gothenburg Packages, including week-end travel and ticket to a show.

DESTINATION CAMPAIGNS IN PARTNERSHIPDestination marketing through strategic partnerships is central to positioning Gothenburg on the global tourism map. A number of stakeholders in the city have therefore joined forces, with the aim of developing, packaging, marketing and sell-ing Gothenburg as a year-round destination. The results have been good. The travel and tourism sector has now seen 19 years of continuous growth in its gross revenue and the number of guest nights in the region, which makes it unique among Euro-pean metropolitan regions. Promotional campaigns and marketing activities were conducted in 2010, aimed primarily at Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

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GöteborgsOperan

Musik av ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER. Manus och sångtexter av DON BLACK och CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON. Förlag: Nordiska ApS

Bra shopping, mysiga restauranger och ett fantastiskt nöjesutbud. Det bästa av Göteborg

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The Big Bang ShowKajskjul 8

From broadway to HollywoodCasino Cosmopol

Robert GustafssonRondo

En sanslös varietéCabaret Lorensberg Oakley´s Las Vegas

GöteborgsOperan

28 29

PASS & PACKAGESThe Gothenburg Pass and Gothenburg Package are

always marketed in conjunction with major cam-paigns, but are also marketed individually through dedicated advertising. In 2010, the ratio of web advertising to print advertising was increased, which delivered better results.

The Gothenburg Pass is our most popular product, and is sold through tourist information offices, hotels, Pressbyrån newsagents and online. The entire city is packaged in one small card that also provides free pub-lic transport and car parking. A new addition this year was a special Christmas Pass sold in November and December that offered more entitlements. During this period a discount was given to everyone who booked a pass through goteborg.com. Web sales increased six-fold over the period.

TUR FAIRSweden’s biggest travel and tourism fair of the year at-tracts exhibitors, agents, tour organisers and operators from all over the world, as well as visitors from all over Sweden. It is an opportunity for Gothenburg to show what the city has to offer, and to build relationships with the industry and with individuals. The Gothen-burg stand is designed in collaboration with several different partners. The big news on the stand in 2010 was the Wheel of Gothenburg.

GOTHENBURG CHRISTMAS CITY In the year 2000 a new tourist tradition was born. In December, Gothenburg is lit up by millions of Christmas lights. In the city centre, a beautifully designed Christmas lane stretches from the Göteborg Opera to Liseberg amusement park. Since the first Liseberg Christmas market was held, ten years ago, Gothenburg Christmas City has continued to grow in importance for the tour-ism industry.Each year, Gothenburg Christmas City is visited by the international press, attracting widespread publicity

and placing Gothenburg on an equal footing with many foreign cities that are considerably larger.

The Christmas City campaign is aimed at the same target markets and geographical areas as the summer campaign, but is also for the people of Gothenburg. A magazine describing the Christmas City is distributed in all three countries in October.

There is also extensive advertising in the local and national daily press, in magazines and on the web, as well as direct mail, radio advertising and PR activities.

30 31

SPINOFFS FROM WHEELThe Wheel of Gothenburg was opened on 22 May, the same warm day as the Göteborgsvarvet half marathon took place. Almost 2,000 people bought tickets on the first day, and by the end of the year a total of 182,147 people had ridden the 60-metre-tall wheel.

The Wheel of Gothenburg, twice as tall as the tradition-al Ferris wheel at Liseberg amusement park, provides views over large parts of central Gothenburg. It quickly became a big attraction for visitors: by 5 July, 50,000 people had ridden it, by 7 August 100,000, and by 4 October over 150,000.

The Wheel of Gothenburg, which is owned by Lise-berg, was an addition to destination Gothenburg, but it has had spinoff effects:

» The “River Space” project, run by Älvstranden Utveckling AB, which describes future development plans for the city, saw a fivefold increase in visitor numbers, from 60,000 to 330,000. More people have become involved in the democratic process as a result.

» Kanaltorget, a previously anonymous area, has been opened up to residents of the city and become a safer and more pleasant place.

» Restaurants and trade in the area have received a welcome boost.

» The skyline of Gothenburg has added character, and the wheel has become a popular emblem of the city, on the latest CD by Gothenburg performer, Håkan Hellström, for example.

» Gothenburg has gained a new landmark that is pho-tographed, mentioned in blogs and was seen in a recent episode of the TV detective series Irene Huss.

The wheel will remain open in 2011.

32 33

SWEDEN’S BEST CITY GUIDE.COMThe Internet is an increasingly important channel, and all tourist destinations are working to develop their websites. Social networking services have taken on an important role in all types of business. Gothenburg has a well-established identity, as demonstrated by the fact that goteborg.com was voted Sweden’s best city guide, and our new iPhone app went straight to the top apps list.

“Easy to book and easy to find ideas. It is also very well designed. This is a site and shop window that highlights the best in accom-modation, eating out and entertainment. A site that the whole city can be proud of.”

(Internet World jury’s comments)

At the start of the year goteborg.com was relaunched with a fresh design and layout. The makeover reflects the new graphic identity of Gothenburg as a destination.The site is largely designed, updated and maintained by Göteborg & Co. The same applies to campaign sites for events such as Student Göteborg, Göteborg Horse Show and the 2013 Indoor Athletics Championships. Factors that have made the website successful include up-to-date content, personal appeal and skilful design.

FACEBOOK REACHES 50% OF SWEDESFacebook is the most popular social network in Sweden. The various social media form a natural extension to goteborg.com, and a means of providing a presence wherever people are. Facebook and Twitter are therefore updated regularly. Personal appeal is important, and the aim is to encourage dialogue. 30,000 fans now “like” us on Facebook. This is twice as many as the number two in the Nordic region: Oslo.

Videos are also produced for YouTube and Vimeo, and photos are posted on Flickr. Since last summer it has also been possible to listen to the sounds of Gothenburg. A Spotify list of 100 songs was created by asking visitors which tracks they associated with the city. Playlists have been produced for some of our bigger events and for performances at Way Out West, Gothenburg Culture Festival, the main stage at Liseberg amusement park, etc. The lists are updated as new performers are added, and visitors are given the opportunity to subscribe to music news from Gothenburg.

GOTHENBURG CITY GUIDE NOW ON IPHONEMobility is increasingly important, and more and more people are using mobile phones as web browsers. At the start of the year a Smartphone app was developed that uses Augmented Reality (AR) to show the city’s attractions as small icons on mobile screens. At the end of November we launched our first iPhone app, a city guide for Gothenburg. The guide is free and is available in Swedish and English. It quickly gained popularity and went straight on to the list of most downloaded travel apps in AppStore.

RAPID DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTTechnology is developing at breakneck pace. This makes it a real challenge to meet the demands of current and future users for accessibility, involve-ment and information. A pilot study was carried out in 2010 for the devel-opment of a new company website that will be launched in 2011.There is also a plan to make further improvements to goteborg.com for launch in the latter half of the year.

TOURIST GUIDE ON SMART TABLEA tourist guide for Gothenburg is one of the new products announced at the massive CES technology fair in Las Vegas in January 2011. Touchtec, a Gothenburg company, has been chosen to develop the software for Microsoft Surface, which enables a table or wall display to be used as a giant touch screen. Technology experts from all over the world will be check-ing out tourist tips from Gothenburg. The product has been developed in partnership with Göteborg & Co’s web unit. Interactive touch screens have previously been installed at the TUR travel & tourism fair, Landvetter Air-port and the tourist information office at Kungsportsplatsen, but the new product has great potential to enhance tourist information.

There is fierce competition for a place on Internet World’s prestigious list of Sweden’s top 100 websites. Goteborg.com was voted Sweden’s best city site and ranked 25th out of 100.

34 35

More and more organisers of meetings and events are looking for “green destinations” to host their arrangements. Many of Gothenburg’s competitors have been trying to promote themselves using environ-mental sales arguments, but Gothenburg already has a head start in sustainability.

It is now time to use this lead to our benefit. Events and meetings are not isolated islands in society. Being sustainable in such a context means much more than recycling waste in the events arena and not buying bottled water for a conference. It requires a holistic approach to the entire event. It means looking at sub-sequent stages of waste management, water manage-ment, air quality, infrastructure, fair supply chains and employment conditions, possibilities for recycling/reusing materials and surplus products, etc.

WORLD LEADERGothenburg already has a successful and well-established competitive advantage – within walk-

ing distance. The “Sustainable Gothenburg” project goes to the next stage. The first phase of the project, which took place in autumn 2010, involved mapping out both the physical infrastructure – in other words, public transport, water, electricity, heating and waste management – and the commercial infrastructure of the city. The latter includes analysis based on sector-specific requirements and guidelines, for sustainable suppliers, communication and services, for example.The conclusion is that Gothenburg has great potential and excellent opportunities to position itself as one of the leading sustainable destinations for events and meetings in the world.This work is continuing in 2011 in the shape of closer co-operation between various companies and the city, as well as the development of an environmental certifi-cation strategy.

GREEN STUDY VISITSIn January 2010 the Green Gothenburg project was

also set up as part of Göteborg & Co’s activities. Its task is to use study visits to increase national and inter-national awareness of the City of Gothenburg’s lead in sustainable development, by focusing on energy issues, construction, accommodation, recycling and waste management. The clients are Förvaltnings AB Framtiden, Göteborg Energi, Älvstranden Utveckling AB and Renova.

SUSTAINABLE EVENTSA human city requires sustainability. In addition to environmental issues, aspects such as diversity, equality and integration must also be considered when the city organises its own events. Göteborg & Co gained environ-mental certification in 2008, and in partnership with the city’s environmental administration has developed a module for certifying meetings and events. Four annual events have so far chosen to certify their environmental activities using the City of Gothenburg’s environmental certification scheme. They are Gothenburg Culture

Festival, the International Science Festival, STCC and Way Out West. Gothenburg Christmas City has begun preparing for environmental certification in 2011.

EVENT SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMIn 2010, work began on developing an international standard for event sustainability management sys-tems, ISO 20121. This is ISO’s first trade standard for sustainability, and is aimed at clients, organisers and suppliers of events and meetings. Around 30 coun-tries are involved in the work, including Great Britain (Olympic Games 2012), Brazil (World Cup football 2014, Olympic Games 2016), Japan, USA and Canada. The completed standard will be introduced in time for the London Olympic Games 2012. Göteborg & Co is represented on the Swedish expert committee and is taking an active role in the development of the standard.

Gothenburg aims to be the most sustainable events and meetings des-tination in the world.This is the vision of the “Sustainable Gothenburg” project that Göteborg & Co has set up in partnership with the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre and the Swedish Environmental Protec-tion Agency. Being able to offer a “green city for meetings and events” will provide an advantage in competition with other destinations.

SUSTAINABILITY GIVES COMPETITIVE EDGE

36 37

The Media Centre works actively to encourage editorial staffs to write about Gothenburg. This work is carried out in close partnership with the West Sweden Tourist Board. By doing so we can jointly promote the city and the region to make them more attractive as a whole. For example, a lobster safari in Bohuslän can be com-bined with visits to Gothenburg’s best fish restaurants.

Our key markets of Norway, Denmark, Great Britain and Germany are the main targets for press visits. The region is now also marketed to China and Russia, which are both promising and rapidly growing tourist markets. Television has a big impact, and whatever is broadcast often remains on the web for a long time afterwards. Televised travel programmes are therefore very much in demand.In WiSoReisen, the presenter travels to cities and stays there for two days, spending no more than 150 euro. The first thing he did here was to buy a Gothenburg Pass, and he then stayed easily within his budget. The programme was broadcast on Germany’s national ZDF channel in summer, and the Media Centre assisted with production in Gothenburg.

Live the longest dayMake the most of the longest day of the year (21 June) with a trip to Gothenburg in Sweden, where at this time of year the sun never really quite sets and a three-day break can feel like a week. An added bonus is that a recently discovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci, La Bella Principessa, will be on display for the first time as part of the city’s “And There Was Light” exhibition (and-there-was-light.com), which brings together works by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci.

The Guardian presented a list of ”30 fantastic new trips for 2010”. Other innovative travel ideas that were suggested included skiing in eastern Europe, a family trip to the Seychelles, a snow festival in Andor-ra, chocolate-making in the Caribbean and vampire-hunting in the USA.

GO:MEET THE WORLD IN GOTHENBURGJust before Christmas, at the annual corporate breakfast, a premiere of a new film, Meet the world in Gothenburg, was held in the main auditorium of

HOW THE INTER-NATIONAL TRAVEL PRESS SEES US

Bergakungen. The film took a year to record and will be used to attract more events, meetings, congresses, stu-dents, companies and other visitors. Using spectacular photos, music and camera fly-bys, it shows off the most attractive sights of the city in a very inspiring way. The film was produced by Janolof Fritze and will be edited into different versions. The scenes in the film will also provide a digital archive of moving images that can be used in future productions and offered to television companies that want footage from Gothenburg.

CONTROVERSIAL PRINCESSThe Renaissance exhibition, And There Was Light, opened in March and became one of the most talked about media events in Gothenburg. The exhibition featured works by Rafael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, including the recently discovered La Bella Principessa. Experts disagree on whether this is a genuine da Vinci or not, but nevertheless the news at-tracted tremendous coverage around the world.A film was produced, then broadcast on television and streamed on web TV by Newsmarket, along with an Interactive News Release (INR) in several languages. This led to a great deal of publicity. It became the most requested TV clip, with over 100 downloads, and our INR was published on 220 web channels with a total of over 200 million visitors.

NEWSMARKET GIVES TV COVERAGEOver the past two years we have raised awareness of Gothenburg and West Sweden by distributing films and TV clips through Newsmarket. This is a portal that allows TV producers and other professional users to download footage free of charge for use in television or web productions.

Newsmarket reaches 25,000 media companies in 190 countries. Users of the service include Hamburg, London, Las Vegas, Stockholm, Visit Britain, Ireland, Denmark and many more. In 2008, Visit Sweden set up a Sweden Channel on Newsmarket, and Göteborg-Plus became the first Swedish destination to subscribe. Since January 2009, we have published a total of 24 video news stories. These have in turn been download-ed over 400 times by 163 media companies.

”30 fantastic new trips för 2010” was the heading in the January list published in the UK at the start of the year by the Observer. Along-side exotic destinations such as India, the Seychelles, St Lucia and Montenegro, Gothenburg was mentioned for two things: the And There Was Light art exhibition and the light midsummer evenings, which according to the newspaper were not to be missed. This type of publicity is invaluable in making our city known to a wider circle of travellers who are seeking unique experiences.

38

CITY AND INDUSTRY IN PARTNERSHIPMember companies and organisations in the Trade & Industry Group are a clear example of the co-operative attitude that has existed between the public and private sectors in Gothenburg for many years. The Trade & Industry Group makes a valuable contribu-tion to the city’s development as a centre for events, learning and industry. Several of the big annual events that we take for granted today would never have come about if members of the Trade & Industry Group had not invested their time, energy and resources. These include the Gothenburg International Science Festival, Gothenburg Culture Festival and Student Gothenburg. In addition, a large number of free theatre groups have received assistance with marketing to help set up new productions.

The Trade & Industry Group conducts regular surveys of the business environment in Gothenburg. The latest took place in 2010. The task of spreading the message through seminars and working groups will continue in 2011.

NEW VISION FOR SHOPPINGThe Trade & Industry Group has formulated a vision for Gothenburg City Shopping. The next stage is to develop a business plan in consultation with landlords and retailers. The aim is to develop shopping as one of the big growth areas for tourism. This is another excellent example of how collaboration with represen-tatives who have diverse interests can help us achieve a common goal. Work with the CIP FORUM and Global Forum began in 2010. Both conferences will take place in 2011.

THE TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUP VISION:“Göteborg & Co’s Trade & Industry Group will act as a platform for collaboration between industry, organi-sations, municipalities, universities and colleges, with the aim of making Gothenburg stronger and more competitive.”

A SELECTION OF THE TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUP ACTIVITIES IN 2010

» Gothenburg’s big film award was presented to Lena Siwe during Göteborg International Film Festival for her film Glowing Stars.

» Culture workshop at Konstepidemin for culture organisers and representatives of trade & industry in collaboration with the Kultur och Näringsliv organisation.

» Young Enterprise, a fantastic high-school pro-gramme for which the Trade & Industry Group is the mainsponsor.

» Gothenburg International Science Festival, 19–29 April. Massive publicity for the 1,000 or so pro-gramme events, attracting almost 100,000 visits.

» Entrepreneurs’ Month in May. The Trade & Industry Group was a partner in the Entrepreneur Hunt and Idea Festival.

» Gothenburg Culture Festival. The Trade & Industry Group presented Gothenburg’s Company Award and was co-arranger of Destination Day.

» The Trade & Industry Group contributed to Gothen-burg’s activities in Shanghai during the World Expo.

» Trade & Industry Day at university, including an event entitled Trade and Industry Contacts – a Good Deal, and the Mompreneurs project.

» In conjunction with a concert by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm, around 200 guests were treated to dishes prepared by Gothenburg chefs Håkan Thörnström and Stefan Karlsson.

» Premiere of Goodbye Horses by Teater Aktör with the support of the Trade & Industry Group.

MEMBERS 2010AstraZeneca, Business Region Göteborg, Castellum, Chalmers University of Technology, Swedish Property Federation, Port of Göteborg, Gothenburg Trade Federation, City of Gothenburg, University of Gothen-burg, Gothenburg Region, Handelsbanken, NCC, Nobel Biocare, Nordea, Posten, SAS, SCA Hygiene Products, SEB, Skanska, SKF, Stena Line, Swedavia, Swedbank, Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre, Telia Sonera Sverige, Volvo, Volvo Cars

CITY & INDUSTRY IN PARTNERSHIPGöteborg & Co’s Trade & Industry Group – a network formed by the city, trade & indus-try and academia – plays a unique and dynamic role in the success of Göteborg & Co. Since its creation over 20 years ago, the Trade & Industry Group has invested SEK 100 million in different projects, all of which aim to support Gothenburg’s development in three main areas: trade & industry, the learning environment and events.

Student Gothenburg, the annual programme of fresher events for new students at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers Univer-sity of Technology, took place for the third year. This is a very popular event that has come to stay.

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HONORARY CITIZEN 2010Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, was chosen as Gothenburg’s Honorary Citizen of 2010. Dudamel, one of the best known and talked about conductors in the world, accepted the award at a ceremony in Nordstan. Gustavo Dudamel came to Gothenburg as Music Director in 2007, and since then has become a global celebrity in the classical music world. Last year he was named by Times Magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and he has over 225,000 fans on Facebook. The jury for the honorary citizenship award, which is made up of representa-tives of Göteborg & Co, Swedish Radio channel P4 Göteborg and the newspaper GT, commented as follows: “Gustavo Dudamel’s artistry is limitless. His passion for music brought him to Gothenburg as Music Director for the Symphony Orchestra. He has brought music to Hammarkullen in the style of the El Sistema music programme in his homeland, Venezuela. Gustavo is a global celebrity who gener-ously shares his art and his knowledge, and this makes him an ambassador for Gothenburg and a worthy Honorary Citizen for 2010.”

AND THE WINNER IS …

GLOBAL COVERAGE FOR KUNGSFENANThe world’s top award for sustainable fishing and maritime gastronomy – Kungsfenan, The Swedish Seafood Award – went to three promi-nent prize-winners in February: Joe Borg, EU commissioner, Abraham Iyambo, the Namibian Minister of Education, and master chef Paul Bocuse.

RESTAURANT GALA AWARDS The Restaurant Gala is arranged by the restaurant and catering magazine RS – Restauranger & Storkök. The purpose of the gala is to highlight and reward good examples and innovators in the Swedish restaurant trade. Magnus Lindström and Per Blomqvist from Swedish Taste were voted Restaurateurs of the Year. Kock & Vin was voted the Catering Team of the Year. Linnéa Art Restaurang was the clear winner in the category Restaurant Interior of the Year.

BEST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES CHOSEN BY WHITE GUIDEWhite Guide winners for 2010 received their awards with great celebration and applause at a gala in Stock-holm. The best restaurants and the best restaurant experiences of the year were announced in a variety of categories. The Kometen restaurant was voted Hearty Restaurant of the Year, and the winner of the category for best experience and atmosphere was Familjen restaurant.

RECOGNITION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL WORKKen Sherman, an oceanographer and marine biolo-gist from the USA, and Randall Arauz, chairman of the environmental organisation PRETOMA, from Costa Rica, accepted the Gothenburg Prize for sustainable develop-ment from Crown Princess Victoria in November. The prize has been awarded annually since 2000 to a long list of prominent researchers. This time the jury chose to recognise efforts to save the oceans from overfishing and pollution. “This year’s prize-winners have made heroic contributions,” commented the chairman of the jury, John Holmberg, from Chalmers University of Technology, in his speech.

COMPANY AWARD 2010During Gothenburg Culture Festival the city presented its Company Award to two companies: NetClean, based in Gothenburg, and Lecor, lo-cated in Kungälv. NetClean was founded in 2003 and develops technical solutions to prevent the spread of child pornography images and videos on the Internet. Lecor was set up in 1965 and is a family-owned company in the steel construction business.

Its achievements include the construction and erection of the new ski jump at Holmenkollen in Oslo – which will be ready for use in the World Ski Championships in winter. The prize sum of SEK 25,000 and a silver statuette was awarded by Göran Johansson, chairman of Göteborg & Co, and Birgitta L-Öfverholm, head of Göteborg & Co’s Trade & Industry Group. The Gothenburg Company Award was introduced in 1994 by the Trade & Industry Group with the aim of support-ing trade and industry and healthy enterprise in the region. Since 1994, around 50 companies have received the award, which is given to small and medium-sized companies that have their roots in the region or clear links with it.

The world’s top oyster opener comes from Gothenburg. Johan Malm, from the Gabriel restaurant in Feskekörka fish market hall, took home the world title against stiff competition from all over the world.

HELLOGustav Trädgårdh, Chef of the Year 2010 and head chef at the Basement restaurant. The jury’s comments on the winner were: “Calm as a cucumber! Superbly well-cooked modern restaurant cuisine combining personality, care and simplicity.”

How did you manage to stay so calm during the competition?

–“I’m a calm person. It’s important to me that I enjoy preparing food, and if you enjoy it you can also perform better. My approach was to keep the set dish of reindeer as straightforward as possible, not to complicate it. Instead I put all my energy and time into the surprise ingredients, and that was where I won. Of course I’ve always loved genuine good cooking, and it’s that tradition that counts.”

Will you be competing again?– “It wasn’t a life’s ambition to win the Chef of the Year.

But since it went so well, I may enter the World Champi-onships.”

How long have you worked at Basement?– “I’ve been working with Ulf Wagner since 1997 and I’ve

been here from the start when Basement opened in 2001.”

What’s the most important aspect of cooking for you?– “I want to prepare genuine, honest food. It’s im-

portant that it fills you up. I use established tastes that work well together, but we also like our dishes to have a twist, a little humour.”

What’s your favourite dish at home?– “Making dumplings with the kids, for soup or to steam and serve with vegetables. The family is impor-tant to me, doing things with my two kids who are five and six years old. Cooking is such an occasion, they’ve learned to eat anything.”

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MUSIC AND FOOD IN THE CAPITALGöteborg & Co and the Västra Götaland Region invited 200 guests to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra at Stockholm Concert Hall. Guests were treated to a first-class buffet dinner by chefs Stefan Karlsson and Håkan Thörnström before attending the concert, which received standing ovations and glowing reviews. Dudamel, a world-renowned conductor, had just a few days earlier been voted Honorary Citizen of Gothenburg 2010. One measure of his popularity is his 250,000 fans on Facebook.

PERSONAL SERVICE EVERY DAYThe Tourist Information Offices at Kungsportsplatsen and in Nordstan shopping centre had 550,000 visitors and answered almost 40,000 queries by telephone, email and chat in 2010. They were open 363 days of the year (closed for Christmas and New Year’s Day). At the Wheel of Gothenburg the Tourist Information Office sells tickets and provides information for visitors. The Tourist Information Office also meets all cruise ship arrivals at the terminal during the cruise season, and its officers attended the Way Out West festival and major con-gresses during the year.

GOTHENBURG DANCE & THEATRE FESTIVALThe Dance & Theatre Festival presented a broad selection of performers from all over the world for the ninth time in 2010. Work-shops, seminars, guest appearances and per-formances worked their stage magic across the city from 17 to 28 August. Göteborg & Co is one of several co-arrangers of the festival.

WET SUMMER FOR MASTERSFormer Olympic medal winners competed against amateurs. 9,000 participants competed in swimming events (pool and lake), diving, synchronised swimming and water polo in the World Masters Championships. From 27 July to 7 August, swimmers aged 25 to 96 brought a splash of colour to the city. The venues for the swimming extravaganza included Valhalla, Åby and Lundby pools, as well as lake Delsjön and Borås swimming pool. The final event was a three-kilometre swim in sunny lake Delsjön.

WORLD’S BIGGEST YOUTH TOURNAMENTSThe Gothia Cup and Partille Cup are the world’s largest tournaments of their kind. The Basketball Festival is the largest in Europe, and the World Youth Games in athletics are the biggest in the Nordic region. These events have given generations of people positive mem-ories of Gothenburg and generate hundreds of millions of krona each year in tourism revenue, as well as giving a valuable competitive advantage when we apply for European championships or world championships. The experience gained by all the officials and organis-ers through these events is especially valuable.

SWEDEN BEST FOR 24 CAREERSCar painters, lathe operators, hairdressers, florists, web designers, carers and many others competed on 21 May for Swedish titles in WorldSkills Sweden at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothen-burg. After three intense, and at times dramatic, days for almost 200 competitors, the Swedish masters were chosen in 24 dif-ferent skills groups. A new National Skills Team was also selected to represent Sweden at WorldSkills in London in 2011.

SPECIAL DAY FOR DESTINATIONOn the first day of the Culture Festival, Göteborg & Co invited owners and part-ner organisations to a Destination Day event. Almost 200 delegates came to the Elite Park Hotel to hear about analyses and trends in tourism and destination development.

The speakers included Rob Davidson, from Westminster University, who talked about tomorrow’s travellers, Generation Y, and their demands. It is intended that Destination Day should become an annual event and opportuni-ty for industry representatives to meet in Gothenburg.

EAST INDIAMAN AT STENPIRENResidents of Gothenburg had the whole summer to acquaint themselves with the East Indiaman Götheborg. While she was moored at Stenpiren, large numbers of people took the opportunity to walk the deck of the ship that had sailed to China and back. Following the royal wedding in Stock-holm, where Götheborg was moored, she came to Gothenburg and remained at Stenpiren from midsummer until 15 August.

CULTURE ALL NIGHT LONGFor 20 years, one Friday night in October has been dedicat-ed to culture. Once a year, galleries, museums, libraries, the-atres and a whole host of cultural venues large and small stay open long into the night. In 2010, the event officially began at one of the most attractive urban spaces in Gothenburg, the courtyard at Magasinsgatan 17, with projected images of the facades of buildings and singing by Göteborgs Indiekör, an alternative choir. Visitors then had the opportunity to enjoy a very diverse range of cultural offerings across the city, including poetry, music, dance, art, readings and much more. It was a chilly evening, but tens of thousands of resi-dents and visitors took to the streets and squares.

IN BRIEF ...

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MANAGEMENTResponsible for the overall long-term, strategic task of developing Gothenburg as a destination.Management is also responsible for overall business development and selected strategic projects and part-nerships. The management group consists of the heads of the respective business areas and staff departments. The CEO has ultimate responsibility for all staff.

MEETINGSGothenburg Convention Bureau (GCB) is the inter-national name of the unit that works to attract more congresses, exhibitions, conferences and corporate meetings to Gothenburg. Göteborg & Co acts as a link between meeting organisers and local companies in the meetings industry, as well as local decision-makers. Partnership agreements have been drawn up with over 90 member companies that represent the tourism industry in Gothenburg.

LEISURE TRAVELGöteborg & Co takes long-term initiatives to market, package and sell Gothenburg as a tourist destination. Göteborg & Co collaborates in its marketing activities with hotels, carriers, Liseberg amusement park, the Universeum Science Discovery Centre, Stena Line, the Göteborg Opera, Got Event, museums, theatres, sightseeing companies, restaurants, trade and industry, event organisers, etc.

EVENTSGothenburg will become one of the leading events cities in Europe by offering a rich and diverse range of events. The business area attracts new events, develops new concepts, supports and develops regular events, assists and collaborates with arena owners and organisers, and provides project management for its own events.

TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUPThe Trade & Industry Group is a platform for collabora-tion between trade and industry, organisations, regional municipalities and universities. The group’s activities focus on trade and industry, the learning environment and events. It includes representatives of around twenty large companies in addition to the City of Göteborg, the Association of Local Authorities for the Göteborg region, Business Region Göteborg, Chalmers University of Technology and Göteborg University.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENTThere is a great need for knowledge to support the strategic task of destination development. Each year we conduct special analyses, surveys and studies, often in collaboration with the Centre for Tourism at the School of Business, Economics and Law, at the Univer-sity of Gothenburg. The aim is to raise the standard of knowledge in the tourism industry across Sweden.

intended as a leading platform for collaboration on desti-nation development that meets international standards.

CEO

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Research & Development Media centre Marketing Visitor Service

Administration, HR, Legal, IT,

Finance, SecurityCommunication

CollaborationInternational Collaboration

MEETINGS

COMMITTEE

LEISURE TRAVEL EVENTS TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUP

COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE

ORGANISATION

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONGothenburg is represented in international networks that support the exchange of experiences and know-ledge, such as European Cities Tourism (ECM) and Delice – Good Food Cities of the World. The unit also handles company-wide agreements and business development.

COLLABORATION COMMUNICATIONAll communication, internal or external, must take into account the ultimate aim of strengthening the Gothen-burg brand. Collaboration on communication is a stra-tegic resource for the company and is also responsible for destination campaigns in the Nordic region.

MEDIA CENTREExposure in the national and international press increases interest in Gothenburg as a destination and is boosted by the press service and organised press visits. Activities include planning and implementa-tion of targeted press activities, follow-up work and analysis.

MARKETINGThe department consists of an in-house bureau and web bureau, which design and produce the company’s marketing communications on request by the com-pany’s business areas.The web bureau is responsible for Gothenburg’s of-ficial destination guide, goteborg.com and each year produces several websites.

VISITOR SERVICEGothenburg’s Tourist Information Office has won sev-eral prizes for its exceptional service. Each year more than 600,000 enquiries are handled by the offices at Kungsportsplatsen and in Nordstan shopping centre, the call centre and via web chat at goteborg.com. Bro-chures are distributed through Tourist Information Office display stands at around 80 strategic locations.

ADMINISTRATIONThis unit supports the company’s business areas and service units in areas relating to finance, law, human resources, IT and security, so that the company can operate as efficiently as possible. Administration also promotes financial awareness and an understanding of environmental costs throughout the organisation.

The company’s employees are its most valuable resource. Our activities are essentially based on knowledge and trust, so our staff have a vital role. In 2009 we began a process of strategic skills provision to ensure we have the right skills to meet current and future challenges. We have put a great deal of effort into implementing this process in 2010 and the organisation now has a complete pic-ture of the company’s collective expertise, which was especially useful in autumn, when a new CEO took over.

The company has not undergone any organi-sational changes in many years and we feel there is general agreement on the need for change. The CEO has been asked by the board to present a pro-posal for a reorganisation in spring 2011.

DIVERSITYEncouraging diversity is a natural part of our work. Our overall aim is to increase knowledge of diver-sity and integration. Whenever we recruit staff we aim to increase diversity, and this should also be reflected in all our communications.

In 2010, training in discrimination legislation was arranged for the management group, staff with personnel responsibility and the company’s diver-sity and equality group. All employees have also received training in homosexual, bisexual, trans-gender and queer issues as part of our involvement with the HBTQ Festival.

EQUALITYThe entire management group, as well as all man-agers with personnel responsibility, have received training in equality.The results were so good that it was decided all staff should receive the same training, and this took place in autumn 2010. All material produced must now be checked to ensure that it is acceptable from the viewpoint of equality and diversity.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATEGöteborg & Co is environmentally certified in accordance with the criteria of the City of Gothen-burg. An environmental survey has shown that the city’s greatest environmental influence lies in setting an example and shaping opinion, in its role as a platform for collaboration. This means that we have considerable influence, but mostly indirect. We have more direct influence through projects that we manage ourselves or in close partnership. Göteborg & Co certified several events itself and collaborates with certified events. See also the sec-tion on the Sustainable Gothenburg project.

EMPLOYEES AND THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

BOARD OF GÖTEBORG & CO

Lennart OlaussonManaging Director, Business Region Göteborguntil 30 Apr 2010

Claes BerglundLine Manager, Stena Line AB

Mats NilssonTrade & Industry GroupVice President, Volvo Brand Management

Olle Sundin(co-opted) Airport Director,Swedavia AB,Göteborg Landvetter Airport

Carin Kindbom(co-opted) CEO, Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centrefrom 1 Aug 2010

Andreas Andersen,(co-opted) CEO, Liseberg ABfrom 1 Feb 2011

Lars Rehnman(co-opted) CEO, Universeum Science Discovery Centre

Joacim CarlssonArea Manager, Goth-enburgWest Sweden Chamber of Commerce

Patrik Andersson(co-opted) Managing Director, Business Region Göteborgfrom 1 May 2010

Börje RådesjöHead of Education, Göteborg Region Association of Local Authorities

Göran Bengtsson(co-opted) Governor,Västra Götaland County

Lennart BlimanThe Association of Large HotelsManaging Director, First Hotel G

Lennart MankertCEO, Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centreuntil 31 Jul 2010

CEO, Liseberg ABuntil 13 Jan 2011

Dag AgårdCity AssociationCEO, NK

Sabine SöndergaardCEO, Göteborg & Cofrom 15 Nov 2010

Gunnel AhoVice Chairman, (M),City of Gothenburg

Björn SandmarkHead of Cultural AffairsCity of Gothenburg

Bengt LindeGothenburg Restau-rant Association,Restaurateur

Leif NilssonCEO, Göteborg & Countil 14 Nov 2010

Göran JohanssonChairman, (S),City of Gothenburg

Thomas TorkelssonCEO, Got Event

Stefan JohanssonThe Association of Gothenburg HotelsCEO, Nääs Castle

Carin BouvinEmployee representative,Göteborg & Co

Håkan BeskowCity of Gothenburg

Lotta Vahlne-WesterhällUniversity of Gothenburg/School of Business, Economics & Law

Carin KindbomSwedish Exhibition & Congress CentreVice Chairman from 1 Aug 2010

Christer JohanssonGothenburg Restau-rant Association

Ninni LidénSJ

Leif NilssonGöteborg & CoChairman

Magnus HallbergThe Association of Large Hotels

Ulrika CarlssonSwedish Exhibition & Congress Centre

Björn RydevikThe Sahlgrenska Academy

Malin FranckThe Association of Large Hotels

Lennart Johansson Göteborg & Co

Marie JacobssonCongrex

Johan CarlstenChalmers University of Technology

Susanne NygaardSAS

Henrik SvenssonMCI

Lennart MankertSwedish Exhibition & Congress CentreVice Chairman until 31 Jul 2010

Brett WeihartSwedavia AB

Terese WibeckThe Association of Gothenburg Hotels

Networks provide new incentives and ideas, and encour-age development. For two decades, Göteborg & Co has been a platform for collaboration that has enabled the public and private sectors to meet and develop Gothen-burg as a destination and a city for learning and events.

Our approach of involving many different parts of the city, its institutions and trade & industry has proved a successful model that many have tried to copy, although few have succeeded. Involvement and the desire to col-laborate are aspects that grow out of long-term commit-ment to common goals.

DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT THROUGH BROAD COLLABORATION

Each business area within Göteborg & Co has a com-mittee that is made up of representatives of owners and working partners. This committee guides much of the practical work of each business areas in meetings, the trade & industry group, leisure travel and events.

The overall aim of the committee is to establish busi-ness plans and reach other strategic decisions, as well as contributing expertise and analysis of external factors based on their respective professional roles.

The members of the board and the various commit-tees are presented below.

COMMITTEES GÖTEBORG & CO MEETINGS

46 47

Richard FredrikssonThe Association of Large Hotels

Ronnie HallgrenGothenburg City Theatre

Petter UllbergSwedish Exhibition & Congress Centre

Helena WessmanGothenburg Concert Hall

Pelle JohannissonLiseberg

Lars ÅhrmanGöteborg & Co

Bert SaluäärThe Association of Gothenburg Hotels

COMMITTEES GÖTEBORG & COLEISURE TRAVEL

COMMITTEES GÖTEBORG & CO EVENTS

Eva SandholmThe Association of Large Hotels

Peter HanssonThe Göteborg Opera

Thomas TorkelssonGot Event

Björn Sandmark Gothenburg Culture Committee

Svante Hjertén Göteborg & Co

Anders BergbrantAstraZeneca

Maria PalmNobel Biocare

Mats DynevikSkanska

Johnolof OlssonThe Gothenburg Trade Association

Birgitta L-ÖfverholmGöteborg & Co

Malin EngelbrechtCastellum

Per-Olof RehnquistUniversity of Gothenburg

Henrik BrättemarkPosten

Petter UllbergSwedish Exhibition & Congress Centre

COMMITTEES GÖTEBORG & CO TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUP

Eva LejdbrandtChalmers University of Technology

Björn ThorsteinsrudHandelsbanken

Mimmi LagergrenSCA Hygiene Products

Carita KalénSwedbank

Mats NilssonVolvo,Chairman

VacantThe Port of Gothenburg

Patrik LundNCC

Ingalill ÖstmanSKF

Bengt MagnussonVolvo Cars, Sweden

Sabine SöndergaardGöteborg & CoVice Chairmanfrom 15 Nov 2010

48 49

Magnus ErsmanSwedish Property Federation, Gothenburg

Olle SundinSwedavia ABGöteborg Landvetter Airport

Lennart SondénSEB

Claes LarssonTeliaSonera

Leif NilssonGöteborg & Co,Vice Chairmanuntil 14 Nov 2010

Bert SaluäärThe Association of Gothenburg Hotels

Mats WedinLiseberg AB

Charlotte LjunggrenStena Line

Jerker DellbladThe Association of Large Hotels

Carina HalvordUniverseum Science Discovery Centre

Kristian AndreassonThe Association of Large Hotels

Mats WedinLiseberg

Leif NilssonGöteborg & CoChairman

Leif NilssonGöteborg & Co Chairman

Birgitta L-ÖfverholmGöteborg & Co

Anna FalckGöteborg Book Fair

Nils-Gunnar ErnstsonGöteborg Region Association of Local Authorities

Mats EngströmNordea

Joakim KenndalStena Line

Patrik AnderssonBusiness Region Göteborg

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The Board of Directors and the CEO of Göteborg & Co Träffpunkt AB hereby submit the following Annual Report. All amounts are in SEK unless otherwise stated.

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

OWNERSHIP

Göteborg & Co Träffpunkt AB is owned by Göteborg & Co Kommunintressent AB (50%), Gothenburg Region Association of Local Authorities (15%), West Sweden Chamber of Commerce and Industry (5%), Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre (5%), Stena Line AB (5%), Association of Large Hotels (5%), City Associa-tion (5%), Association of Gothenburg Hotels (5%) and SHR/Gothenburg Restaurant Association (5%).Kommunintressent AB is owned in turn by the City of Gothenburg (55%), Liseberg AB (15%) and Got Event AB (30%).

OPERATIONS IN 2010

Göteborg & Co Träffpunkt AB has the task of market-ing and taking part in the development of Gothenburg as a tourist, meeting and event city. The company shall be an internationally leading cooperation platform for destination development. It is owned jointly by the municipality and the business sector.

Tourism in Gothenburg showed growth in 2010 for the 19th consecutive year, largely due to an exceptionally good conference year, in which many international and Swedish conferences took place in the second half of the year. This shows how important it is for the tourism industry to have many strings to its bow. Gothenburg’s strategy of meetings and conferences, cultural and sports events and leisure tourism complementing each other is successful.

This year the Gothenburg Culture Festival attracted 925,000 visits to more than 1,000 events, almost a 100% increase since the start. The International Sci-ence Festival has grown from an annual spring event to year-round activities, attracting nearly 70,000 visits

to the main programme. Gothenburg Christmas City finished the year with a New Year’s celebration and has become a well-attended tradition.

These annual events and sports and music festivals make major contributions to the city’s tourism indus-try.

Marketing campaigns for the destination were implemented in Scandinavia, Germany, the UK, Italy, the USA and Spain, often in collaboration with Visit Sweden and the West Sweden Tourist Board.

Travel made a strong recovery in 2010, particularly aviation, with Gothenburg Landvetter Airport see-ing the largest passenger increase of all Swedavia’s airports. The good autumn with a number of major conferences in the city provided a substantial boost to growth.

In 2011 the global economy and the development of the eurozone economy will be important for the outcome. Several new hotel investments are being implemented, but will not be completed until 2012.

With regard to future development, the company pri-oritises participation in the following areas:

• increasing accessibility by stimulating the deve-lopment of new train, air and ferry services.

• increasing efforts to attract cultural, entertain-ment and sports events as well as congresses, trade shows, meetings and corporate activities.

• increasing marketing of the destination in strate-gic markets together with the City of Gothenburg, Västra Götaland region and the tourist industry.

• developing and renewing the major central arenas and facilities in the city.

• starting the preparations for Gothenburg’s 400th anniversary in 2021.

ANNUAL REPORT

2010 2009 2008 2007

Operating income 216 887 248 429 213 937 224 309

Profit after financial items 909 1 317 497 1 277

Total assets 74 046 78 898 66 084 91 593

Equity/assets ratio* 26.1 % 22.3% 26.6% 20.3%

Average number of employees 116 112 103 102

Sales per employee 1 870 2 218 2 077 2 199

*Equity + 73.7% of untaxed reserves/total assets

TOURIST DEVELOPMENT IN THE GOTHENBURG REGION

2010 2009 2008 2007

Total tourist sales SEKm 21 100 20 500 19 800 20 100

Market share of commercial hotel and youth hostel nights 10.7% 10.7% 11.1% 11.3%

Number of employees in travel and tourist industries 15 400 15 100 14 500 15 100

Forecast figures for 2010. Outcome for other years.As from 2010 a new index is being used. The values for previous years have been adjusted for comparability.

PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL POSITIONThe following table shows the company’s performance with regard to some central ear-nings measures and key ratios (amounts in SEK thousand):

PROPOSED APPROPRIATION OF PROFITSThe following profits are at the disposal of the Annual General Meeting:

Profit brought forward 7 207 763

Net profit for the year 1 847 852

Total (SEK): 9 055 615

The Board of Directors proposes that the profits be appropriated so that SEK 9.055.615 is carried forward.

INCOME STATEMENTNot 2010 2009

Operating income 1 216 887 390 248 429 255

Cost of services sold -38 453 181 -43 693 746

Other external costs 2–3 -106 751 850 -140 480 048

Personnel costs 4–5 -70 188 666 -62 308 319

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 6 -976 895 -1 048 111

Total operating expenses -216 370 592 -247 530 224

Operating profit 516 798 899 031

Interest income 403 192 434 122

Interest expense and similar profit/loss items -11 071 -16 072

Profit after financial items 908 919 1 317 081

Appropriations 7 213 300 183 735

Tax on profit for the year 8 725 633 -1 492 251

Net profit for the year 1 847 852 8 565

Annual Report for the financial year 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010

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BALANCE SHEET Note 31 Dec 2010 31 Dec 2009

ASSETS

Property, plant and equipment

Equipment 6 2 705 721 2 762 236

Financial assets

Interests in associated companies 9 0 350 000

Other long-term securities 10 146 000 146 000

Deferred tax asset 8 1 577 709 0

Total non-current assets 4 429 430 3 258 236

Current assets

Inventories, goods for resale 525 002 751 116

Current receivables

Trade receivables 6 901 954 16 693 230

Receivables from group companies 47 755 685 46 594 976

Tax assets 2 149 950 512 088

Other receivables 2 733 367 1 802 467

Prepaid expenses and accrued income 6 482 705 5 799 871

Total current receivables 66 023 661 71 402 632

Cash and bank balances 3 068 147 3 485 624

Total current assets 69 616 810 75 639 372

TOTAL ASSETS 74 046 240 78 897 608

Not 31 Dec 2010 31 Dec 2009

EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

Equity

Restricted equity

Share capital (30,000 shares) 3 000 000 3 000 000

Statutory reserve 1 208 540 1 208 540

4 208 540 4 208 540

Non-restricted equity

Profit brought forward 7 207 763 7 199 198

Net profit for the year 1 847 852 8 565

9 055 615 7 207 763

Total equity 11 13 264 155 11 416 303

Untaxed reserves 12 8 195 400 8 408 700

Current liabilities

Trade payables 16 294 466 26 807 492

Liabilities to associated companies 0 100 000

Liabilities to group companies 8 047 542 6 697 775

Other current liabilities 1 511 102 1 604 312

Accrued expenses and deferred income 13 26 733 575 23 863 026

Total current liabilities 52 586 685 59 072 605

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 74 046 240 78 897 608

Memorandum items

Pledged assets

Blocked bank funds 2 800 000 2 800 000

Contingent liabilities None None

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

2010 2009

Operating activities

Profit after financial items 908 919 1 317 081

Adjustments for non-cash items 991 954 1 100 781

Tax paid -2 489 938 -2 006 733

Cash flow from operating activities before working capital changes -589 065 411 129

Working capital changes

Inventories 226 114 -324 287

Current receivables 7 016 832 -12 019 241

Current liabilities -6 485 919 12 997 036

Cash flow from operating activities 167 962 1 064 637

Investing activities

Sale of interests in associated companies 350 000 0

Investment in equipment -935 439 -1 101 448

Cash flow from investing activities -585 439 -1 101 448

Cash flow for the year -417 477 -36 811

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 3 485 624 3 522 435

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 3 068 147 3 485 624

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES

The accounting principles applied comply with the Annual Accounts Act and the recommendations and statements of the Swedish Accounting Standards Board and FAR.

DEPRECIATION

Depreciation according to plan is based on the original cost of the assets and is al-located over the estimated useful life. Equipment is written off at 20% per year as its useful life is estimated to be 5 years.

The difference between depreciation according to plan and book depreciation is shown as an appropriation.

INVENTORIES

Inventories have been valued at the lower of cost or fair value. The FIFO method has been applied when determining cost. Fair value consists of estimated sales value less estimated selling expense.

RECEIVABLES

Receivables have been recognised at the amounts expected to be received. Other as-sets and liabilities are recognised at nominal amounts unless otherwise stated in the notes below.

REVENUE

Revenue from sales of package tours is recognised as revenue on the booking date since all work relating to the transaction has then been carried out.

The company recognises revenue from fixed-price service assignments carried out on completion of the work, in accordance with the Swedish Accounting Standards Board’s alternative rule in BFNAR 2003:3. This means that ongoing service assignments are

54 55

valued in the balance sheet at direct expenses accrued less invoiced part payments.Other revenue is recognised when the income can be estimated reliably and when,

on the whole, all the risks and rights associated with ownership have been transferred to the purchaser, which normally takes place when goods are delivered or services provided.

TAXES

The tax expense or tax income for the period consists of current and deferred tax. Current tax is the tax calculated on the taxable profit for the period. Deferred tax is calculated on the difference between the carrying amounts of the company’s assets and liabilities and their tax base. The difference between these amounts is multiplied by the current tax rate, which results in the amount of the deferred tax asset/liability. Deferred tax assets are recognised in the balance sheet to the extent that it is prob-able that the amounts can be utilised against future taxable profit.

LEASING

All lease agreements are recognised as operating lease agreements, which means that the lease payments are allocated on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

The cash flow statement is prepared using the indirect method, in accordance with the Swedish Financial Accounting Standards Council’s recommendation RR 7. The reported cash flow only includes transactions resulting in cash receipts or payments.

PARENT COMPANY

Göteborg & Co Träffpunkt AB is 50% owned by Göteborg & Co Kommunintressent AB, (556427-8751), which is in turn 100% indirectly owned by the City of Gothenburg (212000-1355). No purchases or sales between these companies took place during the financial year.

NOTE 1 OPERATING INCOME

2010 2009

Payment for assignments from City of Gothenburg * 78 180 000 82 084 000

Income from sales of services 71 576 918 90 175 406

Marketing payment, project funds and other income from owners and stakeholders 67 130 472 76 169 849

216 887 390 248 429 255

* Payment for assignments includes SEK 10,000,000 for Gothenburg Culture Festival in 2010, as in 2009.

NOTE 2 FEE AND REIMBURSEMENT

2010 2009

Deloitte AB

Audit assignment 118 500 116 500

Other audit services 30 000 29 500

Tax consultancy 34 700 33 400

Audit assignment refers to the statutory audit of the annual accounts, the accounting records and the administration of the Board of Directors and the CEO. Other audit servi-ces refers to an audit of the administration or the financial information that is required by statute, articles of association, regulations or agreements and that results in a report or some other document in addition to the audit report, as well as guidance or other assistance occasioned by observations in connection with an audit assignment.Other services are services that do not relate to the audit assignment, other audit servi-ces or tax consultancy.

NOTE 4 PERSONNEL

2010 2009

Men 31 29

Women 85 83

116 112

The average number of employees as above has been calculated in relation to the company’s normal hours worked per year.In order to give a more complete picture of employment in the company, the table below shows the number of permanent employees and fixed-term employees (project employ-ment, seasonal employment, temporary employment or consultants) during the year..

Number of full-time equivalent jobs Number of people

Permanent employees 75 84

Fixed-term employees / Consultants 41 356

116 440

Information on sickness absence 2010 2009

Total sickness absence 1.84% 1.82 %

Long-term sickness absence 37.00% 47.82%

Sickness absence for women 2.04% 2.11%

Sickness absence for men 1.25% 0.96%

Sickness absence employees aged 29 or under 2.60% 2.46%

Sickness absence employees aged 30–49 2.19% 2.08%

Sickness absence employees aged 50 or over 0.42% 0.10%

Total sickness absence is stated as a percentage of employees’ total regular working hours.Long-term sickness absence refers to absence over a continuous period of 60 days or more.

NOTE 3 LEASING

2010 2009

Lease payments for the financial year 946 546 1 766 319

Future contracted lease payments:

Within one year 847 642 876 637

Two to five years 426 406 1 187 647

More than five years 0 0

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NOTE 5 WAGES, OTHER REMUNERATION AND SOCIAL SECURITY EXPENSES2010 2009

Board and CEO

Wages and other remuneration 1 892 005 1 560 106

Social security expenses 3 540 790 2 274 910

Of which pension expenses (2 356 672) (1 420 405)

Other employees

Wages and other remuneration 42 404 310 38 675 759

Social security expenses 18 413 321 16 664 411

Of which pension expenses (4 591 341) (4 101 782)

Total

Wages and other remuneration 44 296 315 40 235 865

Social security expenses 21 954 111 18 939 321

Of which pension expenses (6 948 013) (5 522 187)

The company’s CEO has a 6-month term of notice. If the company gives notice of termina-tion of contract, the CEO is entitled to a lump sum equivalent to 18 months’ salary in addition to salary during the term of notice.

The present CEO has a defined contribution pension plan, with no guaranteed final level of pension. The company’s pension obligations for the retiring CEO and the previous CEO have been secured through endowment insurance

The amounts for 2010 above include remuneration for the retiring CEO for the full year and for the current CEO for the period October to December.

2010 2009

Number Of which men

Number Of which men

Board members 15 86 % 15 86 %

Senior management 13 48 % 13 46 %

NOTE 6 MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT

31 Dec 2010 31 Dec 2009

Opening costs 11 479 444 10 626 180

Purchases 935 439 1 101 448

Sale and disposal -222 825 -248 184

Closing costs 12 192 058 11 479 444

Opening depreciation according to plan 8 717 208 7 864 610

Depreciation according to plan 976 895 1 048 111

Sale and disposal -207 766 -195 513

Closing depreciation according to plan 9 486 337 8 717 208

Closing residual value according to plan 2 705 721 2 762 236

NOTE 7 APPROPRIATIONS

2010 2009

Change in tax allocation reserve 213 300 183 735

NOTE 8 TAX ON PROFIT FOR THE YEAR

2010 2009

Current tax -852 076 -1 486 047

Deferred tax 1 577 709 -6 204

725 633 -1 492 251

As from 2010 deferred tax is recognised in the balance sheet on temporary differences relating to pension insurance paid and severance pay. The impact on earnings is SEK 1,577,709.

NOTE 9 INTERESTS IN ASSOCIATED COMPANIES

2010-12-31 2009-12-31

Turismens utredningsinstitut i Sverige AB 0 350 000

During the year the company sold shares in Turismens Utredningsinstitut i Sverige AB.

NOTE 10 OTHER LONG-TERM SECURITIES

2010-12-31 2009-12-31

Svensk Turism AB 146 000 146 000

Par value of the above shares SEK 100 each.

NOTE 11 EQUITYL

Share capital

Restricted reserves

Non-restric-ted reserves

Net profit for the year

Opening balance 3 000 000 1 208 540 7 199 198 8 565

Appropriation of profit 8 565 -8 565

Net profit for the year 1 847 852

Closing balance 3 000 000 1 208 540 7 207 763 1 847 852

NOTE 12 UNTAXED RESERVES

2010-12-31 2009-12-31

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2005 - 1 373 300

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2006 1 633 900 1 633 900

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2007 2 769 000 2 769 000

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2008 192 500 192 500

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2009 650 000 650 000

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2010 1 660 000 1 790 000

Tax allocation reserve assessment year 2011 1 290 000 -

8 195 400 8 408 700

NOTE 13 ACCRUED EXPENSES AND DEFERRED INCOME

2010-12-31 2009-12-31

Staff related 9 000 078 6 965 111

Project related 8 323 380 10 079 331

Other 9 410 117 6 818 584

26 733 575 23 863 026

Gender distribution in senior management

58 59

GOTHENBURG, 10 FEBRUARY 2011

Göran Johansson (Chairman) Gunnel AhoLennart Olausson Mats WedinThomas Torkelsson Björn SandmarkBörje Rådesjö Lennart MankertJoacim Carlson Claes BerglundLennart Bliman Dag AgårdStefan Johansson Bengt LindeCarin Bouvin (employee rep.)

Sabine SöndergaardCEO

Our audit report was submitted on 10 February 2011Deloitte AB

Gunnar Andersson, Authorised Public AccountantLena Ardbo, Authorised Public Accountant

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GÖTEBORG & CO | MäSSANSGATA 8 | BOx 29 | SE-401 20 GÖTEBORG | TEL: +46 (0)31-368 40 00 | FAx: +46 (0)31-81 10 48 | INFO@GOTEBORG.COM | GOTEBORG.COM