Hostship Linköping

Hospitality Linköping is Visit Linköping & Co’s and Linköping Innersta’s joint initiative to elevate hospitality in Linköping. The long-term goal is for Linköping to become a destination with better hospitality than comparable destinations in Sweden.

The background to the initiative is that in recent years, Linköping has shown to fall below the average in how visitors perceive the reception compared to other larger Swedish municipalities. The same measurements show that a good reception is the most important reason for travel when tourists choose to visit a place. Fortunately, the first measurements and development efforts that have been carried out have indicated a positive development.

The initiative is particularly important now when the economy leads to even tougher competition for visitors between cities and businesses. Rarely has the significance of good hospitality been as important as now and moving forward to be able to attract more visitors to Linköping.

How
The research company Better Business conducted baseline measurements in the fall of 2021 with participating companies, and based on the results, training efforts were directed at the functions that needed to be developed. The method used is so-called Mystery Shopping. In the summers of 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, new measurements were carried out, and training efforts have been conducted to stimulate development. In the summer of 2026, measurement is paused and instead, a digital hospitality training has been developed.

Who
The project is aimed at all businesses that meet visitors (e.g., shops, restaurants, accommodation facilities, and attractions) in Linköping municipality. Over 150 businesses that are members of Linköping Innersta are already connected to the project. In total, just over 190 businesses are participating.

Cost
If you are active in the tourism industry, the measurements and efforts are free of charge. Businesses affiliated with Linköping Innersta are funded through their membership and Visit Linköping & Co. Businesses within the rest of the tourism industry are funded by Visit Linköping & Co.

This includes
Training efforts to improve hospitality, spring
Two visits by Mystery Shopper, summer
Feedback to your individual business, fall
Opportunity to become Linköping’s best entity in hospitality, fall

When

In the summer of 2026, measurement is paused and instead, a digital hospitality training has been developed which everyone is welcome to complete (free of charge)

Registration
We welcome more companies to join the project and future measurement. To register, email liza.henriksson@visitlinkoping.se.

Award winners of this year’s best hospitality award 2025

In the autumn of 2025, during a Hospitality mingle, Visit Linköping & Co and Linköping’s innermost awarded several Linköping companies in the tourism industry that stand out particularly in hospitality. This time, the Top 5 were also awarded during the five years the measurement has been made, 2021-2025.

Read more about the winners here!