Holiday survey, 2003

In total, Norwegians aged 16-79 went on 5.7 million holiday trips in 2003. This is an increase of almost 5 per cent compared with the holiday year 2002.

The entire increase in the number of holiday trips took place among those having Norway as their main destination. The number of outbound holiday trips decreased slightly.

The growth in the number of holiday trips was mainly to be found among the domestic holiday trips with four to seven overnight stays. A typical holiday in Norway involved the use of one's own vehicle and private accommodation. This differs from the outbound holiday trips, where the majority travelled by plane and stayed in hotels.

Norwegian holiday habits are stable when it comes to the preferred destinations abroad. The top six destinations abroad were the same as in the holiday year 2002, although Greece swapped places with Sweden and France swapped places with the United Kingdom. Spain remained the most popular country with almost half a million holiday trips in 2003.

More holidaymakers

2.6 million Norwegians aged 16-79 travelled on holiday trips with at least four overnight stays in 2003. This constitutes 78 per cent of the population and is the highest figure since the mid-1980s.

People living in Oslo and Akershus went more on holiday than other people. Only 14 per cent of the inhabitants of these two counties did not take a holiday trip. In the western parts of Norway the situation was similar, 16 per cent did not take a holiday trip. The people of Oslo and Akershus however dominated when it came to the number of holiday trips, as one in three went on three or more holiday trips in 2003.

Change in the holiday year

In previous surveys, the holiday year has been 1 November to 31 October. As of 2003, the survey follows the calendar year. See "About the statistics" for further information.

Tables:

• Table 1 Number of people on holiday by main destination in different population groups. 2003. 1 000
• Table 2 Number of holiday trips, by main destination and different criteria. 2003. 1 000
• Table 3 Percentage of people, by number of holiday trips and average number of holiday trips per person in different population groups. 2003
• Table 4 Number of holiday trips, by main destination in different population groups. 2003. 1 000
• Table 5 Number of nights spent on holiday, by main destination and average number of nights spent on holiday per person and per trip by different criteria. 2003
• Table 6 Percentage of people on holiday by season in different population groups. 2003
• Table 7 Number of holiday trips, by main destination and different criteria. Summer 2003. 1 000