New figures from the accommodation statistics show that there were 2.1 million guest nights at the commercial accommodation establishments in January. This is the highest number of Notice the difference between “guest nights” and “guest”. One guest may have several guest nights. ever measured for a January month. There were a little over 80 000 more guest nights than same month last year, an increase of 4 per cent.
There were just under 10 000 more Norwegian guest nights, and 71 000 more foreign guest nights, an increase of 0,7 and 12 per cent respectively.
– Compared to January last year, which also was a record month for a January, we notice an increase in both Norwegian and foreign guest nights. Foreign guest nights accounted for the largest portion of this growth, says senior advisor Kristin Aasestad at Statistics Norway (SSB).
Most foreign guest nights were from Denmark
Around 75 per cent of the foreign guest nights in January arrived from Europe. The largest share of foreign guest nights were from Denmark, with approximately 110 000 guest nights, an increase of 28 per cent compared to January last year. Guest nights from Danish tourists accounted for 16 per cent of all foreign guest nights in January. This was followed by guest nights from United Kingdom and Sweden, with 79 000 and 76 000 guest nights respectively.
Oslo, Buskerud and Innlandet were the most visited counties by visitors from Denmark and Sweden. Some of the most important ski-destinations are located in the latter two counties.
– We notice that many foreign guests choose to stay at counties with important skiing destinations. The snow levels at the Alps has varied significantly the last years, while Norway has experienced more stable levels of snow. This could be a contributing factor for the increase of foreign visitors to Norway, says Aasestad.