Höga Kusten

What Höga Kusten does

Höga Kusten (legal name: Höga Kusten Turism AB) is a private, membership-based tourism destination marketing organization founded in 2010 and headquartered in Örnsköldsvik, Västernorrland, Sweden. It manages the official visitor guide for the Höga Kusten (High Coast) UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering four municipalities — Härnösand, Kramfors, Sollefteå, and Örnsköldsvik — across 112 nature reserves and Skuleskogens National Park. The organization employs approximately 50 people and operates alongside Höga Kusten Destinationsutveckling, a separate municipal company formed in 2014 that has handled visitor services across the region since 2017.

The core product is the hogakusten.com platform, a Drupal-based tourism portal providing activity listings, accommodation directories, event calendars, travel planning tools, and direct booking capabilities. The booking layer is powered by a 2024 integration with the Gotohub platform, which handles payments and listing management for member businesses on a commission basis. Supporting products include the Höga Kusten Stories multimedia platform, the Personal Holiday Planner (a human-assisted digital service recognized by Visita in 2020), a Climate Calculator, a trail-navigation mobile app, and a network of 45 manned InfoPoints plus 20 additional service points across the destination.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring membership fees from regional tourism businesses, transaction commissions from bookings processed via the Gotohub integration (with a portion reinvested in destination development), and cooperative destination marketing funded jointly with Höga Kusten Destinationsutveckling through public investment from Region Västernorrland and the European Union. Customer segments include outdoor adventure tourists (primary), group and conference travelers, families, and travel trade professionals, served across direct digital channels, the InfoPoints network, a mobile visitor service, and B2B trade partnerships coordinated with Visit Sweden.

Name

Höga Kusten

Legal name

Höga Kusten Turism AB

Website

https://hogakusten.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Höga Kusten Turism is a 50-person Swedish destination marketing organization that operates the official visitor portal and booking platform for the Höga Kusten UNESCO World Heritage Site across four municipalities, funded by member tourism business subscriptions, booking commissions via Gotohub, and public co-investment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Destination Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife Sanctuaries & Rescue Centers (Visitor Operations) (THAAAFAA), Tour/Activities/Attractions Reservation Systems (THALADAG), Cultural/Heritage Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAF)

Keywords

• Destination marketing
• Visitor information services
• Tourism booking platform
• Outdoor recreation tourism
• Travel trade services

Headquarters

HQ city

Höga Kusten (Sandöverken)

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees from tourism businesses: Höga Kusten Turism operates as a membership-based organization for tourism businesses in the region, with partners paying to join and gain access to marketing tools, booking platforms, and promotional support.
2. Booking commission through Gotohub: Partnership with Gotohub enables commission-based revenue from bookings of accommodations, activities, and packages made through hogakusten.com. Part of the commission goes back to Höga Kusten Turism for destination development.
3. Cooperative destination marketing: Strategic collaboration with Höga Kusten Destinationsutveckling (public destination management company) for joint marketing and development activities funded by member contributions and public investment.

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Höga Kusten Turism is a membership-based destination marketing organization that promotes the High Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sweden. It operates the hogakusten.com visitor guide, an integrated booking platform powered by Gotohub, a network of 45 InfoPoints providing tourist information, and year-round visitor services including a Personal Holiday Planner and Climate Calculator. The organization serves both visiting consumers and tourism business members across four municipalities (Härnösand, Kramfors, Sollefteå, Örnsköldsvik).

Product overview

Höga Kusten is a tourism destination marketing organization managing the official visitor guide for Sweden's High Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site. The core offering is the hogakusten.com platform—a comprehensive tourism portal providing activity listings, accommodations, travel planning tools, event calendars, and direct booking capabilities. The organization operates a network of 45 InfoPoints and provides year-round tourist services via multiple channels. Key products include the booking platform (powered by Gotohub), the Höga Kusten Stories content platform, a Personal Holiday Planner tool, a Climate Calculator for trip emissions, and a mobile app for trail navigation. The destination covers four municipalities (Härnösand, Kramfors, Sollefteå, Örnsköldsvik) and promotes outdoor activities, cultural experiences, and regional culinary traditions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 45 manned InfoPoints and 20 additional service points serving visitors year-round
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GotohubcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Gotohub provides the booking infrastructure enabling all Höga Kusten Turism members to list accommodations, activities, and packages for direct booking on hogakusten.com. The partnership is commission-based with a portion of revenue reinvested into destination development. Gotohub handles payment processing, booking management, and customer support while Höga Kusten provides the content and marketing.
• Visit SwedencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVisit Sweden is Sweden's official national tourism organization, providing international marketing support and cross-promotion of Höga Kusten as a premier Swedish destination on global tourism platforms.
• Höga Kusten DestinationsutvecklingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHöga Kusten Destinationsutveckling is the public destination management company (municipal) responsible for strategic development of the region. Höga Kusten Turism works with this entity both strategically and operationally, with joint board collaboration to achieve shared 2030 strategy goals.
• Region VästernorrlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government co-financing Höga Kusten tourism development and marketing activities, providing public funding support for destination promotion and infrastructure.
• SJ (Swedish rail)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational railway company as recommended transport option for reaching Höga Kusten, featured in travel planning resources and promoted to visitors.
• NorrtågminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional train operator providing public transport connections to Höga Kusten, featured in official travel information for visitor access.
• Y-bussminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-distance bus service connecting Stockholm to the Norrland coast, including Höga Kusten, recommended as transport option in official travel planning resources.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Visit Sweden: Sweden's national tourism organization and a direct strategic partner of Höga Kusten. Visit Sweden operates the same destination-marketing model at the national level, pooling member fees and public funding to promote Sweden internationally, with regional DMOs like Höga Kusten as core downstream partners.
• Visit Skåne: Regional destination marketing organization for Skåne, southern Sweden. Operates the same membership-based DMO model with public co-financing, integrated booking platform, and tourism marketing across a multi-municipality region, making it one of the closest structural peers to Höga Kusten.
• Visit Gotland: Regional DMO for Gotland, Sweden's largest island. Operates a destination marketing organization with member businesses, public funding, and a focus on nature-based tourism, comparable to Höga Kusten's model of destination development around a distinct natural asset.
• Visit Dalarna: Regional DMO for Dalarna in central Sweden. Uses an almost identical operating model (member businesses, public co-financing, integrated booking and visitor services) to promote a nature and cultural heritage destination, making it a direct structural peer.

Regional players

• Visit Norway: National tourism organization for Norway, a neighboring Nordic destination with a comparable nature-based tourism narrative (fjords, coastline, hiking). Operates at larger scale but with a similar public-private destination marketing model targeting international visitors.
• Visit Faroe Islands: National tourism organization for the Faroe Islands, a small-population Nordic destination with a similar strategy of using dramatic natural landscapes, UNESCO-adjacent narratives, and curated digital content to attract international nature tourists. Operates with similar scale and budget profile to Höga Kusten.
• Visit Iceland: National DMO for Iceland, a comparable small-population, nature-led destination that has built a strong international brand through similar UNESCO/nature marketing. Operates with public-private cooperation, addressing the same target visitor (outdoor, nature, culture travelers).

Others

• Gotohub: Norwegian booking platform provider and core technology partner of Höga Kusten, powering the book.hogakusten.com transaction layer. Operates as ecosystem infrastructure for multiple destination clients, comparable as the enabling technology layer rather than a competitor.
• Swedish National Parks (Naturvårdsverket): Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, which manages national parks including Skuleskogen that anchors Höga Kusten's offer. Acts as a regulator and co-steward of the destination's core natural assets rather than a direct competitor, but shapes visitor infrastructure and operational constraints.

Broad incumbents

• Booking.com: Global incumbent accommodation and activity booking platform. Competes indirectly with Höga Kusten's direct booking platform by aggregating the same supplier inventory, but at vastly greater scale and reach—relevant for understanding the competitive booking landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/HogaKustenOfficiell?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/HogaKusten
• Instagraminstagram.com/hogakusten
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hogakusten

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Höga Kusten