Sweden tourism takes flight at Beijing airport photo exhibition

A photo exhibition showcasing Sweden's tourism destinations opened Tuesday at Beijing Capital International Airport, aiming to boost tourism and cultural exchange between the two countries.

The two-month exhibition coincides with an increase in air travel between the capitals. Air China will begin operating daily roundtrip flights between Beijing and Stockholm on March 31, exceeding pre-pandemic service that offered five flights a week.

"The photo exhibition strengthens cooperation between Beijing Capital International Airport and its sister airport, Stockholm Arlanda Airport," said Kong Xin, a spokesperson for Beijing Capital International Airport. "It promotes Swedish tourism and international flights, while facilitating the recovery of the civil aviation industry."

Sweden's Ambassador to China, Per Augustsson, believes cultural events like the exhibition will attract more Chinese tourists to Sweden and foster people-to-people exchange.

"While the number of Chinese tourists to Sweden remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, we're seeing a strong increase," Augustsson said. "This is a positive development for communication between our peoples."

The addition of the Beijing-Stockholm route is part of the airport's broader strategy to expand international flights as the industry recovers from the pandemic. This year, the airport anticipates handling 80,000 international flights and serving over 150 million passengers.

Peng Chengcheng contributed to this story.