Go south!


After writing my book on Siberia, I had to do something different, as I was far too fond of the Arctic. So I did the opposite and went for a holiday in the sun.

My mission was simply to find out why these package tours are so popular among Northern Europeans such as the Finns and Swedes. Okay, the reasons are obvious enough: better food, better weather, cheaper prices.

There was still something I didn’t quite grasp.

Actually, I ended up going down there six times within the span of a year, to Playa del Inglés, to Dubrovnik, to Crete, to the French Riviera, to Sunny Beach in Bulgaria and to Agadir in Morocco.

Sounds like paradise doesn’t it?

Not for me. Anyway, it wasn't a holiday, because I was running around interviewing people and doing research. Yeah, I know, it doesn't sound particularly tough, but for me it was.

The book was fun and interesting to write. There's a lot in there about the global travel business and about the history of package tours, mixed with my experiences and tales of Scandinavian tourists such as myself.

Photographer Nico Backström travelled with me and took, in my opinion, great pictures of the phenomenon.

Charter! Ett reportage om resan till solen. 1999. Published by Söderströms & C:o in Swedish, and by Tammi in Finnish in 2000.