New figures from the accommodation statistics show that there were 1.3 million Norwegian and 643 000 foreign guest nights at Norwegian hotels in February. This was altogether 75 000 more than in February last year. Foreign Notice the difference between “guest nights” and “guest”. One guest may have several guest nights. increased by 14 per cent, while Norwegian guest nights were down 0.5 per cent.

– Never before have we recorded so many guest nights at hotels in February. The increase in foreign guest nights contributed to the record, says senior advisor Kristin Aasestad in Statistics Norway (SSB).

72 per cent of the foreign guest nights at hotels came from Europe. Great Britain had the most foreign guest nights at 93 000 guest nights, a 19 per cent increase from February last year. Denmark followed with 85 000, and Sweden with 70 000 guest nights. Guest nights from these countries increased by 5.6 and 11 per cent respectively. 

Outside of Europe, guest nights from China increased the most. There was a little over 41 000 guest nights from China, almost double from the same month last year. 

Figure 1. Norwegian and foreign guest nights at hotels. February 2019 - 2026
Source: Accomodation statistics, Statistics Norway

Regional differences

10 counties had an increase in guest nights at hotels in February compared to February last year. The largest increase was in Troms with about 27 000 more guest nights. This was followed by Akershus and Vestland with 25 000 and 21 000 more guest nights respectively. 

However, some counties saw a decline. Rogaland registered 18 000 fewer guest nights than in February last year while Trøndelag had almost 14 000 fewer guest nights. 

– The decline in Trøndelag can partly be seen in connection with the Ski World Championships that were held there at the end of February last year, which resulted in high numbers of guest nights at that time, says Aasestad.

Expensive hotel rooms in Tromsø 

Turnover from guest nights, excluding revenue from any food and beverage services and value-added tax (VAT), divided by the number of rooms sold. was 1460 kroner. This was a 5.3 per cent increase from February last year. 

Of the 66 tourism regions, Tromsø had the highest average price for a hotel room, at nearly 3000 kroner. This was double the country average. 

Guest nights at holiday dwellings and youth hostels

  • 328 000 guest nights at holiday dwelling and youth hostels
  • 134 000 Norwegian guest nights, a 12 per cent increase from February 2025
  • Almost 194 000 foreign guest nights, a 9.7 per cent increase from February 2025

Guest nights at camping sites

  • 140 000 guest nights at camping sites
  • 112 000 Norwegian guest nights, a 3.2 per cent increase from February 2025
  • 27 000 foreign guest nights, a 1.3 per cent increase from February 2025

From February 2026, we have changed the method for calculating guest nights for fixed seasonal contracts at camping sites that cannot report exact numbers of guest nights.

Operators who do not have information on the number of guest nights can now report the number of seasonal contracts in use. Statistics Norway then calculates guest nights using factors based on the month and the county in which the campsite is located.

These factors are determined on the basis of historical data and dialogue with the industry.