What started as a random coincidence in the streets of Gamla Stan in Stockholm finally led to an actual internship placement for me in spring 2026.
In summer 2025 I was on a family holiday in Sweden and wandered the streets of Gamla Stan when I coincidently met Frankie, CEO of XperienceSthlm, in a local souvenir shop. We started to chat and I expressed my initial interest for a potential internship with the company, as I was about to finish my Bachelors in Germany and was looking for a new professional challenge. I knew I wanted to continue my journey in Sweden and Frankie encouraged me to send in my application.
Then, after successfully completing my Tourism Management in Spring 2026, I actually started a voluntary internship at XperienceSthlm in Stockholm, Sweden. During my four month internship, I worked in many different settings: at the office in Filmhuset, from home and while shadowing guides and guests during various experiences in Stockholm.
My Work Areas
My main area of responsibility was brand and process management. As XperienceSthlm is still a young company, establishing clear internal and external procedures was a crucial part of supporting the company’s continued development.
I started by getting familiar with the company’s tools and existing processes. During the first half of my internship, I streamlined a detailed recruitment pipeline and defined the different stages of the recruitment process. This helped the company establish a more standardised procedure. Furthermore, I streamlined the partnership outreach process, including the communication structure and contract design. This now allows the company to follow a more consistent procedure and respond more quickly to enquiries and potential partnership opportunities.
Through my internship, I also supported the company with German translations. As German tourists represent the largest inbound tourist group in Sweden, my language skills were particularly useful for translating key information on the website and adapting tour content for German-speaking guests and guides.
In addition, I planned and implemented my own small research project on the potential of XperienceSthlm in relation to the growing relevance of the Coolcation travel trend. I conducted this as a field study and extended the research from my Bachelor’s thesis while exploring my personal research interests and potential opportunities for the company.
To gain a deeper understanding of the products and the company’s services, I occasionally shadowed different experiences, including the Thrifting Tour, Urban Art, Stockholm Must Sees and Uppsala Must Sees. I particularly enjoyed this part of the internship, as I love Stockholm and was able to discover many new aspects of the city that broadened my own perspective. In a half-point presentation, I shared my progress and initial deliverables with the team.
Taking More Responsibility
During the second half of my internship, I enjoyed the Swedish summer while working more independently in my own areas of responsibility. I continued supporting the translation work and editing the tour content in German for the German-speaking guides. I also gained access to the company’s email inbox, where I took responsibility for prioritising enquiries and processing bookings. One of my main tasks was to research potential partner companies and draft and send targeted partnership enquiries.
Another highlight was shadowing the Vaxholm Archipelago experience twice. I really enjoyed experiencing the beautiful Swedish coastal atmosphere during summer while gaining an even better understanding of this specific product, as it is quite popular amongst the German guests. Towards the end of my internship, I summarised my research findings and presented the final deliverables to the company board.
After completing my internship, I began studying a Master’s degree at Linnaeus University in Sweden. At the same time, XperienceSthlm gave me the opportunity to continue working remote and part-time with the company after my internship. This has been a great opportunity to remain involved in the management areas I helped to establish, while gaining valuable Swedish work experience in a sector I am genuinely passionate about.
October 2026, Anna Hoffmann