Australia - Denmark business boomWednesday, July 06, 2005Our...

Australia - Denmark business boom
Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Our attention captured, Australians are travelling to Denmark in record numbers. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says more than 35,000 Australians visited Scandinavia in 2004 and Denmark was their most popular destination. The Ministry forecasts a 30% increase for 2005.

More Danes are also coming here – 20,500 in 2004 compared to 19,000 in 2003. In total Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) is the third largest European market for Australian tourism with more than 70,000 Scandinavians visiting last year.

Scandinavian Airlines in Australia also experienced a record year in 2004.

“Our passengers to and via Copenhagen increased by 28 percent compared to 2003. Business to Denmark almost doubled,” says Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) general manager Australia Lars Sandahl-Sorensen.

“These are pretty unique increases in the airline business.”

He attributes such strong growth to increased attention towards Scandinavia and the airline offering customers an opportunity to use Copenhagen as an effective hub for Europe instead of the usual Heathrow.

“We promote SAS as the natural choice when travelling to northern Europe and there is increasing recognition that we offer a very attractive service and schedule at a range of competitive prices.”

SAS’s business combination airfares (combination of business and economy sectors) have proved extremely popular as trade relationships with Denmark blossom. “Business class customers accounted for more than half our total volume last year,” says Mr Sandahl-Sorensen.

Australia’s exports to Denmark, mainly wine and coal, rose 33.5% last year over 2003 to $93 million*.

In return Australia’s imports of consumer goods, medicaments, electrical instruments and tools from Denmark increased by 11.3% to $381m (*DFAT May 2005).

Denmark attractive for Aussie businesses
Denmark is also attracting Australian investment. Medina Apartments, a subsidiary of the Toga Group, will open an apartment hotel in Copenhagen in December 2005 as part of a major new harbourside development. Toga says the apartment hotels sector is relatively undeveloped in the European market and it is actively looking for more properties in Scandinavia, Germany and Italy.

In February 2005, Macquarie Airports bought an 11.3% share in Copenhagen Airport as a long term strategic investment. The company said Copenhagen Airport was attractive because it is one of Europe’s strongest performing and highest quality airport operations with surplus capacity for growth.

Copenhagen Airport is the international hub for Scandinavian Airlines.