According to new figures from the accommodation statistics, there were almost 6.6 million guest nights at Norwegian commercial accommodation establishments in July this year. This is a decrease of 99 000 guest nights from July last year. The decrease is mainly due to fewer guest nights at camping sites.
There were almost 2.6 million guest nights at Norwegian camping sites in June. Of these, 1.7 million were Norwegian, a decrease of 172 000 from last year.
- July was cold and wet this year, especially in southern Norway. Camping sites in Eastern Norway, Rogaland and Vestland registered fewer Norwegian guests, says senior advisor Kristin Aasestad in Statistics Norway- (SSB).
In the northern parts of Norway, the number of both Norwegian and foreign guest nights at camping sites increased. In Nordland county, Norwegian guest nights increased by 52 per cent. Foreign guest nights increased in Troms and Finnmark by 16 per cent.
Increased guest nights at the hotels
There were 3.4 million hotel guest nights in July this year. This is a 2.2 per cent increase compared to July last year and is only 13 000 fewer than the July record from 2019. A 14 per cent increase in foreign guest nights explains the increase in guest nights at the hotels.
– Hotels had a good summer. The weak Norwegian krone made Norway more attractive to foreigners and might be why we saw an increase in the number guest nights, even with fewer Norwegian guest nights, says Aasestad.
- In addition, several hotels that were reserved for Ukrainian refugees last year have returned to normal operation, adds Aasestad.
Higher revenue at hotels
The sales figure for the accommodation activity, not including breakfast or any extra services, even though they might be included in the price of the stay. Sales are published without any VAT at Norwegian hotels was 2.3 billion in July this year, an 8.6 per cent increase from the same month last year. At the same time, guest nights have increased by 2.2 per cent. The average price per room was NOK 1331, 4.8 per cent higher than in July 2022.
Guest nights at holiday dwellings and youth hostels
- 599 000 guest nights at holiday dwellings and youth hostels
- Norwegian guest nights down 11 percent
- Foreign guest nights up 5.7 percent
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.