A record-breaking year

Published:

There were 33.8 million guest nights in Norwegian accommodation establishments in 2018. This is 1.5 per cent more than in 2017, making 2018 the 5th record-breaking year in a row.

In accommodation establishments as a whole, Norwegian guest nights increased by 1.4 per cent, while the foreign ones increased by 1.8 per cent.

Figur 1. Guest nights. By nationality and type of accomodation

Total 2017 Total 2018 Hotels 2017 Hotels 2018 Camping sites 2017 Camping sites 2018 Holiday Dwellings 2017 Holiday Dwellings 2018
Norwegian 23348139 23684456 16694513 17085796 5234109 5336068 1221586 1071940
Foreign 9948628 10128218 6585534 6641333 1947887 2070732 1262876 1260240

Of the total foreign guest nights registered in the accommodation statistics, Germans still have the highest figure, followed by Sweden. Guest nights by Germans are highest mainly due to the large number of guest nights at camping sites. New from last year, are the guest nights from the USA, which have climbed from 6th to 3rd place. This is due to a substantial increase in the guest nights at hotels.

Figure 2. Total guest nights from Germany. 2018

ØSTFOLD 15248
AKERSHUS 36722
OSLO 230469
HEDMARK 47253
OPPLAND 123206
BUSKERUD 63697
VESTFOLD 16178
TELEMARK 36113
AUST-AGDER 59225
VEST-AGDER 88683
ROGALAND 120846
HORDALAND 223754
SOGN OG FJORDANE 145305
MØRE OG ROMSDAL 150023
TRØNDELAG 148474
NORDLAND 167638
TROMS 94957
FINNMARK 55461
SVALBARD 6775
Figure 2. Total guest nights from Germany. 2018
ØSTFOLD 15248
AKERSHUS 36722
OSLO 230469
HEDMARK 47253
OPPLAND 123206
BUSKERUD 63697
VESTFOLD 16178
TELEMARK 36113
AUST-AGDER 59225
VEST-AGDER 88683
ROGALAND 120846
HORDALAND 223754
SOGN OG FJORDANE 145305
MØRE OG ROMSDAL 150023
TRØNDELAG 148474
NORDLAND 167638
TROMS 94957
FINNMARK 55461
SVALBARD 6775

Another hotel record

With a total of 23.7 million guest nights in 2018, Norwegian hotel establishments experienced another record-breaking year. This is 1.9 per cent more than in 2017.

The number of Norwegian guests nights also increased by 2.3 per cent, while the foreign ones increased by 0.8 per cent. Here, the number of guest nights was highest for visitors from the USA, surpassing the number of Swedish and German guest nights since last year.

Figure 3. Hotels. Foreign guest nights by country of residence. Top 6

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Sweden 601797 610446 707737 701287 726249 752929 804784 763488 726874
Great Britan 439444 454305 509297 507738 535733 626368 652938 624903 538803
Germany 708652 699776 651739 565423 606116 645293 731498 716236 724809
USA 302146 298754 286883 282675 371667 394169 461691 629020 771238
China 63617 86179 86007 141908 152993 270022 372556 446731 423783
Denmark 519076 491279 516216 452340 414360 425847 483750 429131 424081

Compared to 2017, total sales at hotels increased by 3 per cent to a total of NOK 15.1 billion. The average price per room for the whole year increased from NOK 946 to 960. The number of available rooms increased in 2018 compared to 2017, and despite the increase in the number of guest nights, the utilisation of capacity of rooms declined from the year before. The revenue per available room therefore remained approximately the same as the year before.

Campers increases in popularity

Guest nights in camping sites increased by 3.1 per cent from 2017 to 2018, largely due to the increase in guest nights in campers compared to the year before. Compared to 2017, registered guest nights in campers increased by 23 per cent.

Fewer guest nights at holiday Dwellings

  • 2.3 million guest nights in 2018
  • 6.1 per cent decline since 2017
  • Norwegian guest nights declined 12 per cent
  • Number of foreign guest nights unchanged

More foreign guest nights in Svalbard

  • 155 000 guest nights in 2018
  • 6 per cent increase since 2017
  • Number of Norwegian guest nights unchanged
  • Foreign guest nights increased by 16 per cent

Figure 4 . Share of total guest nights by establishment. 2018

Hotels Camping sites Holiday dwellings Hostelling International
Share (per cent) 70 22 7 1

Minor decline in December

In December 2018, there were slightly below 1.5 million guest nights in total, which is a decline of 1.3 per cent. Both Norwegian and foreign guest nights declined, by 0.9 and 2.3 per cent, respectively. Guest nights at holiday dwellings declined by 23 per cent, while at camping sites they increased by 6.5 per cent. At the hotels, the figures remained approximately the same.