Sweden: The country 'prescribed' by doctors
Martin EdströmA cheeky new ad campaign claims that visiting the Nordic nation and embracing Swedish culture can improve your wellbeing – and it's turning to medical experts to make its case.
A video for Sweden's latest publicity campaign starts with an intriguing question.
"Did you know that Sweden is the first country in the world that doctors can prescribe?" asks a woman in a white lab coat with a stethoscope slung around her neck, standing in front of a snow-capped mountain range. "Because Sweden is filled with activities that make you feel good," she adds with a deadpan delivery. As an icy gust howls, the camera zooms out to reveal she's half-submerged in a frozen lake.
"A classic sauna activates your parasympathetic nervous system for profound relaxation," the woman continues, still fully clad in her lab coat, while sharing a steaming sauna with half-naked patrons. "Or maybe, you prefer nightlife?" she asks, sliding on a pair of sunglasses as the midnight sun illuminates a fjord. "Here in Sweden, the sun won't go down for 100 days. Just imagine what 24-7 light therapy could do for you."
Despite its tongue-in-cheek tone, the country's newest tourism initiative, which launched late last month and is called The Swedish Prescription, is meant to highlight how exploring the Nordic nation's vast wilderness and embracing Swedish culture can improve your wellbeing – and it's leaning into science to make its case.
Alexander Erdbeer/ Visit SwedenAccording to the World Health Organization, studies have shown that increased exposure to nature can help reduce stress, improve one's overall mood, enhance cognitive function and lower the risk of chronic diseases.
In a nation home to more than 265,000 islands, 100,000 lakes, 5,700 nature reserves and that famously has a veritable law of wanderlust (allemansrätten) enshrined in its constitution, travellers aren't just allowed to explore Sweden's outdoors; they're encouraged to.
Add in the concepts of friluftsliv (literally: "open-air living") in which Swedes regularly unplug and seek out nature; stress-reducing activities such as forest bathing and deep-sleep retreats; and a holistic approach to life known as lagom, asking your doctor to "prescribe you Sweden", might make you feel better after all, the campaign cheekily suggests.
As Steve Robertshaw, Senior PR Manager at Visit Sweden notes, these traditional activities designed to reset one's mind and body are all a crucial part of the "Swedish DNA".
Lola Akinmade"We live in a world of turmoil. Many people are struggling to cope and are suffering from stress and anxiety," Robertshaw says. "This initiative creates an opportunity to highlight the benefits of Sweden's nature and lifestyle as a research-backed growing movement in patient care."
To craft the campaign, Visit Sweden teamed up with four medical experts based in the US, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany to identify "five activities in Swedish nature that can boost your health" (such as forest bathing, foraging and sky-watching), and "three Swedish habits that can balance your everyday life" (like taking a leisurely leisurely fikacoffee break or plunging into a frozen lake following a sauna visit). The campaign lists a series of research-backed studies from groups like The American Psychological Association, The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and the European Environment Agency and asked Senior Professor Emiritus Yvonne Foresell at the Karolinska Institute to independently verify each claim.
Though the marketing scheme claims "Sweden is the first country in the world prescribed by doctors", the campaign isn't without precedent. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, doctors recommended patients with tuberculosis venture to the mountains of Switzerland to heal. Starting in the 1830s, medical professionals sent those suffering from various respiratory illnesses to salt mines across Central Europe. In many ways, The Swedish Prescription feels like a cross between an evocative modern-day travel advert and a promotion for an old-fashioned sanatorium.
"Imagine a place where birdsong is the only sound that breaks the silence," it reads. "Where you can go wild swimming in any lake and feast on nature's generous pantry. Where you fall asleep under a starry night sky, far from light pollution." Yet, the campaign's message of reconnecting with nature to reconnect with ourselves could strike an especially resonant chord today. According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism – which includes activities like frequenting saunas, spas and mindfulness retreats – is estimated to reach $2.1 trillion USD by 2030.
Lola Akinmade"We definitely see many travellers seeking these types of activities in Sweden," says Francisca Leonardo, CEO of the Stockholm-based, women-led experiential travel company, XperienceSthlm. "Over the years, Sweden has done an effective job of advertising its immense nature and outdoors as a selling point for travellers looking for a 'green break' away from their daily lives in concrete-made cities."
This latest travel advert joins a recent flurry of cleverly ironic Nordic campaigns. In 2024, a viral video by Oslo's tourism board racked up more than 20 million views as a seemingly unimpressed Norwegian man wonders why anyone would ever want to visit the city. "You can just walk from one side of town to the other in, like, 30 minutes," he mused in the video. "Is it even a city?"
Last year, the "Sweden (not Switzerland)" campaign riffed on a common gaff made by confused travellers. Four years ago, another ad featured a young woman telling a friend all the things she didn't find in Sweden, as footage showed her island-hopping, biking, enjoying fika, chasing auroras and dipping in cool lakes.
"I myself am a fan of a good sauna with a cold plunge," said Robertshaw, who recommends likeminded travellers to Sweden seek out the Arctic Bath in Swedish Lapland, the underground sauna in Dalarna's Adventure Mine and Ästad Vingård in Halland. For endless summer sun, you can hike The King’s Trail (Kungsleden) through Swedish Lapland or enjoy deep sleep in one of several secluded cabins dotting the country.
Lola AkinmadeLeonardo says her clients often seek out Stockholm's Archipelago during summer to be surrounded by water and greenery to get a respite from city life stress. "In winter, the Northern Lights and snow-covered landscapes are attractive points," she adds. "During autumn, we take travellers hiking and foraging in the woods, and our local Swedish guide, Jana, takes guests on a guided-meditation hike through Stockholm's secret forest trails."
What makes The Swedish Prescription particularly effective is how it taps into the nation's signature brand of dry satire, which may leave travellers wondering whether it's meant to be taken seriously or not.
"That 'side effects' bit at the end [of the video] is the hardest I've laughed in ages," says one commenter on Youtube. Similar to an actual drug advert, the rolling credits feature a voiceover rapidly reading a laundry list of potential ramifications of a Swedish holiday, including: "a sudden appreciation for pine trees and wanting to hug them, blueberry endorphin overdose, sleep so good you feel like a brand new person, addiction to tasty tap water and disorientation upon encountering functioning public transportation".
There's even a downloadable prescription PDF urging "patients" to bring this document to their doctors and ask for a visit to Sweden to be prescribed.
Martin Edström"It's curious to see how Visit Sweden is trying to blend Swedish stereotypes with actual research-based findings," says Leonardo. "I think the fact that they got actual qualified doctors to vouch for this 'prescription' is quite hilarious, especially as Swedes themselves take doctor's orders very seriously!"
* Lola Akinmade is a Stockholm-based travel writer, author, photographer and regular contributor to BBC Travel.
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