According to new figures from the accommodation statistics there were about 1.8 million Norwegian and 782 thousand foreign guest nights at Norwegian The numbers refer to hotels, short-term holiday dwellings, camping sites, and youth hostels. in March this year. Foreign guest nights increased by 71 thousand, at the same time Norwegian guest nights decreased by 33 thousand compared to March last year.
– European countries accounted for an significant part of the increase among foreign visitors. In total, there were 30 thousand more guest nights from the United Kingdom, Poland, France, and Italy compared to March last year. In addition, there were twice as many guest nights from China, says Boyd Oyier, adviser at Statistics Norway.
Easter was in March last year. Several hotels in the cities were closed during parts of the month last year, whereas this year they operated normally. This contributed to an increase in both Norwegian and foreign guest nights at the hotels. For camping sites, Holiday dwellings and youth hostels: All types of establishments with a rental unit (apartments, huts etc.) with self-catering and limited service. Stays are short-term. and youth hostels, there was a decline in Norwegian guest nights, while the number of foreign guest nights remained roughly the same as March last year.
The number of overnight stays varies during the year and the pattern is repeated every year. Seasonal adjustment is used to remove what we call seasonal variations, such as public holidays from monthly time series. The adjustment removes the effects of these fluctuations, giving a clearer picture of the time series., which remove seasonal variations throughout the year, show a slight decline in guest nights from February to March this year, despite an increase in foreign guest nights. Foreign guest nights have shown a steady increase since 2022.
Increase for the hotels in most counties
Most counties had more hotel guest nights in March this year compared to last year. Guest nights at hotels in Oslo, Trøndelag and Akershus contributed most to the increase. The three counties all saw record high figures in March this year.
In Oslo there were 61 thousand more guest nights at the hotels, in Trøndelag there were 43 thousand more.
– The Ski World Championships in Trondheim may have contributed to the increase in hotel guest nights in Trøndelag. There was a significant rise in both Norwegian and foreign guest nights in the county. The number of foreign guest nights was twice as high as in both 2024 and 2023, says Oyier.
In Akershus there were 33 thousand more guest nights at the hotel.
In Innlandet, Vestfold, Telemark, Buskerud og Agder there were a decrease in guest nights at the hotels compared to March last year. The largest decrease was in Innlandet with 28 thousand fewer guest nights.
– A combination of little snow and the fact that Easter was in April this year led to fewer hotel guest nights at typical ski destinations in Innlandet, Buskerud, and Telemark in March, adds Oyier.
Decline at camping sites
In almost every county there were a decline in guest nights at the camping sites in March this year compared to March last year. Many campsites start their season at Easter and were therefore closed in March this year.
Compared to March last year, Norwegian guest nights declined by 81 thousand. Compared to two years back, in March 2023, Norwegian guest nights declined by 25 thousand. Not since 2020 have there been fewer guest nights at campsites in the month of March.
Guest nights at holiday dwellings and youth hostels in March 2025
- 302 thousand guest nights at holiday dwellings and youth hostels
- A 9.9 per cent decline from March 2024