The pandemic has had a significant impact on Danish tourism. After confinement ended and restrictions eased, visitors returned – but in far fewer numbers, and with new habits, needs and expectations.

Karin Buhl Slæggerup is CEO of Fregatten Jylland, a historic warship museum. She points to technology as an essential factor in the attraction’s recovery and transition. Karin therefore strengthened her digital skills by taking part in the ‘Digital Leadership Culture’, a project supported by the European Social Fund (ESF).

The project aims to strengthen the digital competences of managers and key employees in 420 Danish Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). With this new expertise, businesses are better able to safeguard their long-term survival.

Together with several other East Jutland tourist attractions, Karin participated in a ten-month ‘Digital Leadership Culture’ course in 2021. She was able to use what she learned to update the Fregatten Jylland website, and to direct a greater company focus towards online marketing and use of cloud-based tools and services.

An online booking system has been added to the website, and bookkeeping has been moved to a new checkout system, allowing Karin a far better understanding of her client base.

Reflecting on the impact that taking part in the project has had on visitor numbers to her visitor attraction, Karin says: "2021 was a tough year with two shutdowns, but the first half of 2022 has been very positive, and we are slowly increasing the number of visitors. We have a ambitious goal of reaching 100 000 visitors by 2025, and we choose to believe that it can still happen, even though raising prices on energy and groceries makes the situation quite unpredictable. We feel that many Danes have reduced their activity, and we may find ourselves in a situation where we have to reassess our budgets."

More info: https://youtu.be/O5Sv6x58RRY