Visit Sweden gives islands away for free in campaign by Prime Weber Shandwick

With more islands than any other country in the world – over 267,000 – Sweden is turning geographical flex into a global creative platform.

In a new international campaign developed together with Prime Weber Shandwick, Visit Sweden is offering five international travellers the opportunity to become custodians of their own Swedish island, in a move that reframes luxury around solitude, simplicity and access to nature - rather than exclusivity or conspicuous consumption.

Applicants to ‘Your Swedish Island’ (launched on the heels of ‘The Swedish Prescription’) can bid to take stewardship of one of five carefully curated Swedish islands. Winners receive a one-year right of use, putting a strong focus on caring instead of buying. The only requirement? You can’t be a billionaire to apply.

True luxury is about escaping and caring

A new international YouGov survey conducted across nine markets reveals that 80% believe society places too much emphasis on material possessions. Nearly 44% of the respondents would be happy to escape the crowds by going to their own island.

“We’re redefining luxury — as a rich variety of islands, tranquillity, and the chance to experience the Swedish way of life. Simply put: luxury of a different nature”, says Nils Persson, CMO of Visit Sweden.

The campaign transforms Sweden’s vast nature, scarcely populated areas and the Right of Public Access into global conversation starters.

“We departed from private islands, with opulent mansions and helipads, as a caricature of wealth in the modern world, and found the core of this campaign in the opposite: Sweden’s accessible islands”, says Petter Lublin, creative director at Prime Weber Shandwick. “Now anyone can apply to get their own Swedish island. Except billionaires, because we believe in democratic luxury.”