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| Winter break: Bettina Brandt and her son, Joel, are among hundreds of thousands of Swedes who seek a reprieve in the sun each
winter. BOB RIVES |
Swedes weigh global warming versus a better tan
Eco-minded Scandinavians crave winter vacations. Yet the long flights add to greenhouse gases. Should they hit the beach or save the planet?
from the April 23, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
"Of course, no matter how you twist and turn this thing – tourism flights hurt the environment," Mr. Persson agrees. "But I don't think you can stop it. You can't expect Swedes to stop traveling to the sun. We just have to trust that the aviation technology will develop and get cleaner."
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One in 10 Swedes surveyed recently by Stockholm-based Nordea Bank said they planned to buy a second home abroad within the next two years. With Spain's sun coast now out of economic reach for many middle-class families, they're turning their search to countries such as Thailand, Gambia, and Brazil.
Other sunbirds simply take advantage of low-cost destinations such as India, where they can stay for months in cheap guesthouses without defaulting on bills back home.
Sussi Oskarson and her partner, Jonnie Cronquist, were spending the winter in Goa – she after taking a leave from her job at a credit company and he thanks to a government disability pension. At their country home south of Stockholm, they're sticklers for recycling and composting their waste.
"What you take from the earth you should return," Mr. Cronquist explains over a drink in a beach bar where laid-back Indian waiters like to greet customers in Swedish or Russian. "That's how we renew our world."
"And at the same time we travel so much," Oskarson adds with a grimace. "It's a paradox, isn't it?"
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