Figures from the accommodation statistics show that there were approximately 960 000 guest nights at the Norwegian commercial accommodation establishments in March, a 6.3 percent decrease compared to March last year. For the hotels, the decline in guest nights continued, but a solid increase at camping sites and holiday dwellings, softened the decline. After a year with measures to stop the ongoing pandemic, the decline in the total number of guest nights continued throughout March.
Closer to normal at the camping sites
There were about 171,000 overnight stays at Norwegian camping sites in March, almost doubling from March last year. There were about 92 000 more Norwegian guest nights, while foreign ones were reduced by 7000. Compared with previous periods, there were more overnight stays in March this year than there were in both March in 2019 and in 2017, in both these years Easter fell in April. More Norwegian guest nights contributed to the increase. Foreign overnight stays declined as a result of stricter entry restrictions in March compared to the restrictions in March last year.
From mid-March 2020, many of the camping sites had to close down when several Corona restrictions were introduced. In March this year, far more camping sites were open throughout the month, which contributed to the sharp increase. Another contributing factor for the increase was that the first part of Easter fell in March this year, while it was in April last year. The timing of Easter had a significant impact on the accommodation figures.
The downward trend for hotels continues
After a year with Corona restrictions, the decline in guest nights at hotels continued. There were approximately 633 000 guest nights at Norwegian hotels in March this year, a 23 per cent decline compared to March the previous year. There were 52 000 fewer Norwegian guest nights and 133 000 fewer foreign.
Most counties saw a decline in guest nights, the exceptions being the counties on the west coast. Rogaland and Møre og Romsdal had an increase of 14 and 5.3 per cent, respectively, while Vestland remained unchanged.
Eurostat has an overview of important short-term indicators and their development during the pandemic.