The map shows the share of employed people in tourism industry in 2017. On a national level the share of tourism is quite similar in the Nordic countries, except for Iceland where the share is more than double as high. In Iceland it is especially the sector “Accommodation and food service activities” that stands out. This category alone stood for 6.9% of the total employment in Iceland in 2017 .
On a regional level Åland stands out with 14.7% of employment in tourism. In Åland it is mainly the category “Sea passenger transport” that is big. Only this category stands for 9.8% of the employment. Also other islands such as Gotland and Bornholm have a high share of employment in tourism as well as the capital cities of Copenhagen and Stockholm. Jämtland attracts many tourists in the winter. The regions with the lowest share of tourism employment include the Finnish regions Keski-Pohjanmaa and Etelä-Pohjanmaa (both 2,7%); Københavns omegn (2.9%) and Vestjylland (3.4%) in Denmark; Blekinge (3.3%) and Kronoberg (3.3%) in Sweden and Østfold (3.5%) in Norway.
The data on employment by sector is classified using the NACE classification system (“nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la Communauté européenne”). To define which sectors that tourism comprise of, we have selected the Eurostat’s definition due to the fact that Eurostat has adapted the definition of UNWTO to a European context to make it more precise and to avoid overestimate certain economic activities (e.g. real estate activities). Their definition is also very close to the definition used by Tillväxtverket. Eurostat thus defines tourism as comprising the following economic activities :
| H4910 | Passenger rail transport, interurban |
| H4932 | Taxi operation |
| H4939 | Other passenger land transport n.e.c. |
| H5010 | Sea and coastal passenger water transport |
| H5030 | Inland passenger water transport |
| H5110 | Passenger air transport |
| I5510 | Hotels and similar accommodation |
| I5520 | Holiday and other short-stay accommodation |
| I5530 | Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks |
| I5610 | Restaurants and mobile food service activities |
| I5630 | Beverage serving activities |
| N7710 | Renting and leasing of cars and trucks |
| N7721 | Renting and leasing of recreational and sports goods |
| N7910 | Travel agency and tour operator activities |
| N7990 | Other reservation service and related activities |
It is of course difficult to distinguish tourism from domestic activities, e.g., taxi activities will include both tourism and domestic users. At the same time tourism will have spill over effects on other economic activities.
