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The royal castles have been closed and the management of the parks has been neglected. The court is generating million-dollar losses since tourists disappeared as a result of the crown crisis.
Now the court expects the state to take over the financing of the eleven royal castles.
The Royal Palace in Stockholm’s Old Town is haunted. Staffan Larsson, head of the Governor’s Office at court, describes walking through empty floors as surreal.
“There are usually long queues of visitors in almost every room. Now maybe a hundred people in a whole day visit us. It is a big difference”.
When the crown pandemic erupted at its worst in late March, all eleven royal castles were closed to visitors. When the storm abated a bit, in July, there were only resources left to open four of them. Because unlike the Court of Justice, which finances the king’s work as head of state, the State Palace, which manages the royal castles and parks, is not fully financed by the state.
The status of the castle is 80 percent dependent on income and therefore tourists. To get around, they need income of 105 million SEK per year, but this year they only expect to receive 28 million SEK.
So far this year, we have had 167,000 visitors to the castles. In a normal year, we should have had about 1.5 million by now, “says Staffan Larsson.
“We need the revenue to be able to employ custodians, castle guards, exhibition staff, people who care for our parks and gardens, and staff who take care of personal property.”
Through cuts, layoffs and relocation of staff, Castle State managed to save just over SEK 30 million. But the numbers were still glowing bright red and the forecast pointed to a deficit of just over $ 50 million by year-end, according to Staffan Larsson.
It was then that the government came to the rescue.
In the fall amendment budget, it was proposed that the Palace State receive 40 million SEK in additional funding. An airbag against the crisis. Still less will be about 10 million crowns, but Staffan Larsson describes it as “manageable.”
“If we had not received this support, we would have had big problems.”
At the same time, the concerns are far from over, he says.
“Now we have been saved this year, but next year there will be a new situation again. I don’t think tourists will come back in large part Many of the cruise trips for next year are already planned and we have not received any inquiries. “
And the crisis in the crown is not the only threat. Staffan Larsson paints a picture of an increasingly changing and anxious world. Climate change, economic crises and possible trade wars between great powers – all can have a huge impact on the income of the Castle State.
Take the summer of 2018 as an example. Then the heat wave settled like a lid on Sweden and many tourists did not show up, the situation became difficult. Staffan Larsson has worked at the court for four years and describes it as half of the working time so far has been handling large fluctuations in the flow of visitors.
“There are many industries that are in the same situation, but the challenge for us is that we have an assignment. The head of state has a mandate from the Riksdag to nurture, protect and display this cultural heritage. Not only can we stop commissioning, but it is difficult when it is financed with income to such a high degree, “he says, adding:
“This is not the cultural heritage of the king or the organization, they are state buildings and parks. It is not reasonable for American, German and Chinese tourists to pay for it. “
Instead, Castle State should also be funded by taxes to a greater extent, says Staffan Larsson. But that, he adds, is a matter for the Riksdag and the government to decide.
TT: You received money from the state this year, what does it say that taxpayers will continue to pay in the future when it is ready for next summer?
“My point is, it won’t be ready for next summer. For such an important cultural heritage, you can’t have a system that goes from zero to one hundred all the time. There is a structural issue here that we need to look at together with the government and the Riksdag. It must become more stable. “
