Tourism in Norway

Here you will find information, statistics and trends for tourism in Norway.

Statistics

In 2011 the value of the Norwegian tourism industry was estimated at 136 billion crowns. The Norwegian tourism industry employed 233,000 people, paid about 55 billion NOK in taxes, and bought products and services for 98 billion NOK. (NHO Reiseliv).

Foreign tourists had over 7.9 million overnight stays in Norway in 2010, of which German tourists accounted for 21 per cent. Danes and Swedes accounted for 12 per cent. The total number of overnight stays was 28.5 million in 2010.

Overall, tourists spent NOK 106 billion in Norway in 2010. Foreign tourists spent NOK 31 billion.

Germans, Danes, Swedes, Dutch and Brits are the most frequent guests in Norway. They had almost two out of three foreign guest nights at collective accommodation establishments in Norway in 2010.

Accommodation businesses had a turnover of about NOK 21 billion and food and beverage service activities had a turnover of about NOK 36 billion in 2009.

The average cost of a hotel room in 2011 was £113, a lot less than in many other European cities (rooms in Paris, Rome, Venice, London, Amsterdam, Geneva and Stockholm all cost more).

Non-resident guests in Norway spend most money on transports.

More statistics about Norwegian tourism in English.

Number of visitors per market

Table p11 here.

2011: Record year

2011 was a record year for Norway’s airports: a total of 44,275,213 passengers travelled through Avinor's airports in 2011, 4 million more than in 2010. Oslo Airport Gardermoen also set a new record, with more than 21 million passengers in 2011 – 2 million more than in 2010 and 10.5 per cent up.
2011 was a record year for the Flåm Railway, with over 600,000 passengers taking the trip between Flåm and Myrdal.
2011 was a record year for tourism in Northern Norway, in part brought about by the positive trend in winter tourism in Northern Norway. The region had over 3 million commercial overnight stays in 2011, an increase of almost 9% on the previous year.
457,000 cruise passengers visited Norway in 2011, more than ever before.

Did you know?

Røros won the prestigious Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2012 at the World Travel & Tourism Councils (WTTC) award ceremony for its ongoing work with sustainable tourism.

Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldal won the Reiselivsprisen 2011 (the ‘Oscars’ of Norwegian tourism).

“Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye” exhibition drew one million visitors in Paris, Frankfurt and London between May 2011 and Sep 2012. The exhibition moved to the Munch Museum in Oslo in Oct 2012, and will be shown there until 17 Feb 2013. Press contact for the Munch Museum in Oslo.

Last updated: 13 November 2012