Sunny destinations and the winners of the Grand Travel Award

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New week and Monday again. What does that mean? Well, travel news here at FREEDOMtravel of course! We present a selection of the week's press releases and alternate with things we have learnt about in other ways. Stay tuned!

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TUI launches the podcast "All that travelling can be"

In six episodes of the new podcast "Everything a journey can be", listeners will hear famous Swedes share their best tips and experiences from Rhodes, Zanzibar, Lisbon, Thailand, Sicily and Mexico, led by presenter Tove Norström. TUI's new podcast premiered on 12 February and can be listened to wherever podcasts are available and on tui.se.

Swedes choose sand over snow - international interest in ski resorts

Only 6 percent of Swedish travellers say they are planning a ski trip this year, according to a survey commissioned by the hotel and travel search site momondo.se. At the same time, data shows that international interest in air travel to Nordic winter resorts is increasing compared to last year. In Sweden, Sälen is the most popular ski resort, according to both Swedish and international tourists.

All Grand Travel Award winners

The Grand Travel Award, the travel industry's own Oscars gala, took place at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm on 15 February. The winners are selected through a survey of travel agency employees, the Swedish public and business travellers. Here are this year's winners:

• Tourist countries: Greece and Italy
• Spec. tour operators: Golf Plaisir
• Tour operators: Ving
• Ferry companies: Ecker oil line
• Domestic transport: Norwegian
• Rental cars: NOTICE
• Hotel chains in Sweden: Radisson Blu
• International hotel chains: Hilton Hotels
• Flights in Europe: Sunclass Airlines
• Fly internationally: Qatar Airlines
• Cruise lines: Celebrity Cruises
• Ski resorts: Vemdalen

Maiden voyage for Finnlines' new vessel Finncanopus

Last week, Finnlines presented its new superstar class vessel, the Finncanopus, in Stockholm. The Finncanopus will, together with its sister ship, the Finnsirius, which has been praised for its smart and elegant design, to operate on the Kapellskär-Långnäs-Nådendal route between Finland and Sweden via Åland. The Finncanopus arrived at Stadsgården terminal on 15 February and departed on its maiden voyage on 16 February, with a guest writer for FREEDOMtravel on board.

Sunny destinations are trending among Swedes

It is clear that Swedes are looking for sunny destinations at the beginning of the year, when summer light is several months away. According to data from Hotels.com, searches for destinations with more hours of daylight have increased since Christmas. Portugal has increased by 110 per cent, followed by France (100 %) and Thailand (60 %). To help you plan a long-awaited sunshine holiday, Hotels.com lists popular destinations by amount of daylight in February:

• Villa Maïa, Lyon, France - 11h 06 min daylight/day
• The One Palácio da Anunciada, Lisbon, Portugal - 11h 19 min daylight/day
• Fair House Villas & Spa, Koh Samui, Thailand - 11h 26 min daylight/day
• SOUL Atlantic Palms, Cape Town, South Africa - 12h 49 min daylight/day
• Vibe Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia - 12h 50 min daylight/day

The finalists of "Hylla Skåne" are ready.

More than 100 nominations were received and now the finalists for this year's Shelf have been selected. Skånewhere heroes in Skåne's event and tourism industry are recognised. The winners will be recognised at an awards ceremony at Amiralen in Malmö on 13 March.

• Event Skåning of the Year 2023: Lotta Gall - Åhus Beach / Camilla Stark - Gudahagens Vikingamarknad / Glenn Pålsson - Dryckeshantverket / André Petersson - Eskilscupen.
• Experience of the year in Skåne 2023: Nyrups Naturhotell / Skåne Zoo / Disgusting Food Museum / Botildenborg
• Volunteer of the Year 2023: Dalle Berglund / Lars-Erik Fredriksson / Malin Buhre / Johnny "Puma" Nilsson

Reflection of the week

Interesting and fun that South Africa is mentioned in this week's travel news! We are travelling around South Africa right now, and we can attest that you get a good dose of sunlight here. Also fun that we had a guest writer on board Finnline's new ship on the maiden voyage, we look forward to hearing more about the trip!

Did you miss the last travel news? Read the Green corridor, food waste reduction and restaurant week

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