UK business travellers heading to Gothenburg next year will find plenty of reasons to add a day or two to the diary. The West Sweden tourist board has unveiled a programme of hotel openings, long-distance trails and cultural anniversaries for 2026, all built around the region’s long-standing sustainability credentials.
For SME owners and frequent flyers who use Gothenburg as a gateway to Scandinavia, the announcements strengthen the case for turning a routine trip into something more productive, whether that means a better class of hotel near the city or a coastal detour before the flight home.
New rooms from the city centre to the coast
The most convenient addition for corporate visitors is the Strawberry Quality Hotel The Book, a 215-room design hotel opening in central Gothenburg in June, next to the Liseberg amusement park and the World of Volvo museum. Close to the city, Hällsnäs Hotel & Restaurant adds 32 rooms in February, including four lake-facing suites with private saunas. Its fish restaurant, Signum, picked up two Michelin stars in late 2025, giving visiting executives a serious client-dinner option outside the city centre.
On the coast, luxury hotel Strana on the island of Orust opens 19 seaside houses in summer 2026, expanding its waterfront retreat and Ocean Spa. Hyssna Forest Resort, south of Gothenburg, debuts two architect-designed cabins sleeping two and four, while Anfasteröd Gårdsvik adds a view bar over Ljungskile and three glamping tents in June. The region features prominently among the hotel openings set to reshape business travel in 2026.
A cultural calendar worth planning around
Companies timing incentive trips or client hospitality have fixed dates to work with. The Smögen Island of Light returns from 4 to 13 September, turning a stretch of coastline into an outdoor light-art gallery. On Tjörn, Pilane Sculpture Park marks its 20th anniversary with a headline show by British sculptor Tony Cragg from mid-May to 27 September. The Bohuslän Chamber Music Festival runs from 25 to 28 June with nine concerts across the islands, opening at Gothenburg’s Stora Teatern with a performance featuring John Malkovich.
Inland, Lidköping’s Rörstrand Museum celebrates 300 years of Europe’s second-oldest porcelain brand alongside the museum’s own 50th year, and the Svenstorp Art Centre exhibits the reality-bending photography of Erik Johansson.
Trails for the extra day
With six in ten UK professionals now extending business trips into holidays, the region’s new routes are well timed. The Pilgrim Path Läckö-Hjo launches in summer, a 155 km hiking trail linking Läckö Castle to the timber town of Hjo via Skara Cathedral, Varnhem Abbey and the Hornborga Nature Reserve. Cyclists get Ljungleden in spring, a 170 km route connecting Gothenburg and Falköping and joining up two of Sweden’s most popular long-distance cycleways, the Kattegattleden and Ätradalsleden. Dalsland’s 850 kilometres of gravel tracks round out the offer, and as one recent first-hand account of hiking through West Sweden found, the region rewards travellers who slow down.
Food remains a strong draw, from Grebbestad oysters and Lake Vänern’s protected vendace roe to restaurant Urtid at hotel Billingehus. Full details of accommodation and activities are on the West Sweden tourist board site, with wider planning resources at Visit Sweden.
