Staffan Larsson, the Governor or the Royal Palaces, has been interviewed by TT News Agency.
The court in a money crisis - wants more state support
Royal palaces/castles have been closed and the management of the parks is neglected. The court is making millions in losses since the tourists disappeared in the wake of the corona crisis.
Now the court hopes that the state will take over responsibility for the financing of the eleven royal castles.
The Royal Palace is spooky empty. Staffan Larsson, the Governor of the Royal Palaces, describes it as surreal to walk through the empty floors.
- In normal cases, there are 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 corona pandemic raged at its worst at the end of March, all of the eleven royal castles were closed to visitors. In July, there were only resources left to open four of them. Because unlike the Court Administration, which finances the king's task as head of state, the Palace Administration, which manages the royal castles and parks, is not fully state-funded.
Missing 50 million
The Palace Administration is 80 percent dependent on revenue, and thus on tourists. To get around, revenues of SEK 105 million a year are needed, but this year they only expect to receive SEK 28 million.
- So far this year, we have had 167,000 visitors in the castles. In a normal year, we should have had around 1.5 million at this time, says Staffan Larsson.
- We need the income to be able to employ janitors, castle guards, display staff, people who take care of our parks and gardens and staff who take care of the movables.
Through cuts, layoffs and redeployment of staff, the Palace Administration managed to save just over SEK 30 million. But the figures still shone bright red and the forecast pointed to a deficit of just over 50 million at the end of the year, according to Staffan Larsson.
That was when the government came to the rescue. In the autumn amendment budget, it was proposed that the Palace Administration receive SEK 40 million in extra funding. An airbag against the crisis. They will still go minus about SEK ten million, 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 worries are far from over, he claims.
- Now we have been saved this year, but next year there will be a new situation again. I don't think the tourists will come back to any great extent. Many of the cruise trips for next year are already planned and we have not received any inquiries at all.
And the corona crisis is not the only threat. Staffan Larsson paints a picture of an increasingly changeable and anxious world. Climate change, economic crises and potential trade wars between great powers - everything can hit the Palace Administration's revenues hard.
He takes summer 2018 as an example. Then the heat wave settled like a lid over Sweden and many tourists didn't show up, the situation became difficult. Staffan Larsson has been at his job for four years and describes it as half of the working time so far has been about managing 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 show this cultural heritage. We can't just stop carrying out the assignment, but it is difficult when it is revenue-financed to such an extent, he says and adds:
- This is not the king's or the organization's cultural heritage, it is state-owned buildings and parks. It is not reasonable that American, German and Chinese tourists should pay for it.
Instead, the Palace Administration should also be tax-financed to a greater degree, says Staffan Larsson. But that, he adds, is a matter for the Riksdag and the government to decide on.
TT: You received money from the state this year, what is it that says that taxpayers will continue to pay in the future when it may be ready for next summer?
- My point is that it will not be ready for next summer. For such an important cultural heritage, one can't have a system that goes from zero to a hundred all the time. There is a structural issue here that we must look at together with the government and the Riksdag. It must become more stable.
Hovet i pengakris – vill ha mer statligt stöd _ Aftonbladet