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Sweden, in a tongue in cheek campaign, has listed its entire countryside on Airbnb. The campaign markets Sweden as a place where anyone from anywhere can hike, camp or even pick mushrooms and berries, for free.

The campaign isn’t an exclusive offer to AirBnB users though. Sweden, as well other Scandinavian countries have a public ruling that allows anyone to freely roam and collect edibles from the countryside. This does not include hunting though, in any shape and from excluding fishing, which is allowed only if fishing rods are used.

Also Read: Tourism Competitiveness: Where Does Pakistan Stand At The Global Index?

What is the ‘Allemansrätten’?

Allemansrätten (prnounced alla mans raytten) in Swedish literally translates to everyman’s right. The law lets people roam through not only public property, but also privately owned forests among other places. There are however, a few details that one must always remember

Jenny Kaiser, president of Visit Sweden, Sweden’s tourism agency, shared:

“You can camp or pick berries or hike everywhere, as long as you don’t come too close to houses or disturb fields or animals that are grazing.”

Kaiser further clarified:

“Sweden didn’t have to pay for the listing, which should hopefully also bring more people to Swedish Airbnb listings.”

Call a Swede Campaign

The campaign is almost similar to “The Swedish Number” campaign when Sweden became the first country in the world to have a telephone number of its own. The telephone number allowed anyone from anywhere in the world to call Sweden for absolutely no charges. Volunteer citizens from all of Sweden would pick up the call and talk to strangers from across the globe.

Also Read: PTDC Preparing To Launch a Tourism Channel in Pakistan

Both are a way for Sweden to get noticed. Commenting at the operative strategy, Kaiser opined:

“We’re a small country, and we don’t have any big, iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben”

It is to note that berry picking and spending the summers in the wild is a common activity in Sweden. Almost up to 50 percent of young families plan a hike in Northern Sweden over the Summer season and pick wild berries.