According to new figures from the accommodation statistics there were about 38.6 million guest nights at Norwegian accommodation establishments from January to December 2024. There were 26.2 million Norwegian Notice the difference between “guest nights” and “guest”. One guest may have several guest nights., an increase of 1 per cent compared to 2023. In addition, there were 12.4 million foreign guest nights, the highest number of foreign guest nights ever registered in the accommodation statistics. This represents an increase of 12 per cent compared to last year.
– There is growth in international tourism in Norway. For several years except during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the number of foreign guest nights has remained stable around 9-10 million. In 2023 the number increased to 11 million, and in 2024 it was a new record with more than 12 million foreign guest nights, says senior advisor Kristin Aasestad in Statistics Norway.
About 80 per cent of all foreign guest nights in 2024 were from European countries. There were most guest nights from Germany with 2.4 million, followed by Sweden with 1.2 million guest nights. Further, the Netherlands, Denmark and Great Britain had respectively 912 thousand, 861 thousand and 777 thousand guest nights.
The The numbers refer to hotels, short-term holiday dwellings, camping sites, and youth hostels. registered 933 thousand guest nights from Asia in 2024. Compared to 2023, this represents an increase of 48 per cent. China contributed the most to this increase. There were 220 thousand guest nights from China in 2024, this amounts to a 143 per cent increase compared to 2023. However, the number of Asian guest nights are still not at the same level as before the pandemic, then it used to be about 1 million guest nights from Asia annually.
Growth in the number of guest nights in the winter season
There are most foreign guest nights in the summer, but there is a strong increase in guest nights in the winter months in 2024. In January, February, March, October, November and December 2024 there were 3.7 million foreign guest nights, this represents an increase of 27 per cent compared to the same months in 2023.
– The increased interest for Norway as a winter destination shows that the tourism tends to be more year-round, says Aasestad.
– Several direct flight routes, especially to the Northern Norway, the weak Norwegian krone and unique nature experiences as the Northern Light and artic nature may explain some of the growth in foreign guest nights, Aasestad continues.
Guest nights at hotels in 2024
- 19.1 million Norwegian guest nights at the hotels
- 7.6 million foreign guest nights at the hotels
Guest nights at camping sites in 2024
- 5.2 million Norwegian guest nights at the camping sites
- 2.7 million foreign guest nights at the camping sites
Guest nights at holiday dwellings and youth hostels in 2024
- 1.8 million Norwegian guest nights at the holiday dwellings and youth hostels
- 2.1 million foreign guest nights at the holiday dwellings and youth hostels
Increase in foreign guest nights and reduction in Norwegian guest nights in December 2024
In December 2024 there were registered 1.9 million guest nights at Norwegian accommodation establishments. This is 117 thousand more than in December 2023. It was an increase in foreign guest nights and a reduction in the Norwegian guest nights.
Starting from January this year, annual figures for guest nights by municipality will be available in the StatBank. Municipalities with few observations will be protected by Statistics Norway’s confidentiality principles and will be suppressed in the tables in the StatBank. This is marked by a : instead of numbers.