In total, there were approximately 5.1 million guest nights at Norwegian commercial accommodation establishments in August this year according to new accommodation statistics figures. That represents 77 000 fewer guest nights than August last year.
There were 2.1 million foreign guest nights, an increase of 8.9 per cent compared to August last year – the highest number observed in foreign guest nights in August.
– The number of Norwegian guest nights was higher than in August 2019, despite the decrease from last year, says senior advisor Kristin Aasestad in Statistics Norway.
Large decrease of guest nights at camping sites
There were 1.5 million guest nights at Norwegian camping sites in August this year, a decrease of 10 per cent compared to August last year. Simultaneously, domestic camping guest nights decreased by 15 per cent.
– The extreme weather “Hans” led to destruction of many camping sites in southern Norway in August. Camping sites located in Innlandet, Viken, Vestfold and Telemark reported a decrease in the number of guest nights due to floods, water damages and closed roads, says Aasestad.
– However, many parts of the northern regions of Norway experienced favorable weather. This may have contributed to the increase in guest nights for both domestic and foreign visitors, adds Aasestad.
Guest nights at camping sites in Nordland increased by 24 per cent. Domestic guest nights in Nordland increased by 40 per cent, while foreign guest nights increased by 13 per cent compared to August last year.
Increase in foreign guest nights at hotels
There were 3.1 million guest nights at hotels in August. This is an increase of 3 per cent compared to August of last year. The increase in August can be attributed to the 19 per cent increase of foreign guest nights at hotels.
Out of the 67 A tourism region is a regional classification for a level between county and municipality. These regions have been designated by a tourism bureau or other agency within the tourism industry in cooperation with Statistics Norway in Norway, Oslo accounted for the largest number of foreign guest nights at hotels. Compared to august last year, the capital city experienced an increase of 66 000 foreign guest nights. 4 out of 10 foreign hotel guest nights was in the Oslo and Bergen tourism region.
– August is a popular vacation month in Europe, and this year the foreign guest nights returned to the same levels as August 2019, says Aasestad.
Domestic hotel guest nights decrease 4.1 per cent compared to August last year. The most substantial decrease was observed in the counties of Innlandet, Vestfold and Telemark, with respectively a 16 and a 15 per cent decrease. All tourism regions within these two counties experienced fewer domestic guest nights this year than last year.
Guest nights at Svalbard
- 15 400 guest nights at hotels
- 12 per cent decrease compared to August 2022
- Domestic hotel guest nights decreased by 33 per cent
- Foreign hotel guest nights increased by 4.8 per cent
In accordance with definitions from Eurostat, refugees should be excluded from tourism statistics and not be considered as guests in the context of tourism statistics when they stay at a tourist accommodation establishment. Refugees from Ukraine cannot be assigned by purpose as holiday, occupation or course, conference. It was not possible to extract all refugees guest nights and some stays are included in the statistics. For accommodation establishments that have more than 25 guest nights from Ukraine during the month, the guest nights have been removed from the statistic. Establishments that are exclusively hosting refugees are not included in the statistics.