For Norwegians, this summer is likely to be spent in Norway. This is important for a hard-pressed tourism industry. However, Norwegians traditionally leave little of their holiday money in their own country. Now, the Norwegian government’s most important instrument for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry, Innovation Norway, is launching a campaign to give Norwegian tourists knowledge of everything Norway has to offer. Read more about After the Coronavirus: Norway for Norwegians.
Innovation Norway will now turn its usual mission of profiling Norway as an international destination through Visit Norway, to promote Norway to Norwegians.
“This is a special year and a very special situation. The corona epidemic has put a large part of the industry out of play, but if we still want to see something positive in all the sadness, many of those who have previously traveled abroad, now express that they will experience Norway this year. Our job is therefore to inspire and guide holiday-loving Norwegians to use everything that Norway has to offer through our channels. A job we do together with the tourism industry,” says tourism director Bente Bratland Holm.
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Holidays in Norway – spending money abroad
Figures from 2019 show that just under 14 million holiday trips were added to Norway. This means that 60 per cent of all Norwegians’ holidays already take place in their own country.
In the summer of 2020, even more people will probably choose to vacation in Norway. However, despite the fact that as many as two out of three holiday trips are inland, Norwegians spend two out of three holiday kroner on foreign holidays. The reason is the fact that when Norwegians vacation domestically, more than 6 out of 10 stay overnight in private accommodations, whether this is in their cabin, in a vacation home or with friends.
In 2019, only 12 per cent of Norwegians’ overnight holiday stays took place in hotels. On holidays abroad, however, figures from Statistics Norway show that more than half chose to stay in hotels.
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Norwegian campaign inspires to discover ‘the unknown Norway’
Norwegians spent just under NOK 123 billion on holiday trips in 2019. Compared to 2018, spending in Norway was reduced by NOK 12 billion, a decrease of 27 per cent. By comparison, consumption on foreign holidays increased by 3.4 billion.
“If everyone who is now planning a Norwegian holiday in the summer of 2020 also leaves money on hotels, restaurants, cultural and leisure activities and activity providers, then it will mean a lot to Norwegian tourism. For many, it can mean further existence, and that we still will have a vibrant, wide-ranging travel industry in Norway,” says Holm.
After the Coronavirus: Norway for Norwegians
To inspire increased spending of the holiday budget is the very message in Innovation Norway’s domestic campaign, which started in March and will continue through the spring. “Through telling stories we want to show Norwegians a Norway they may not know as well. Book a guide and go musk safari, or paddle under the midnight sun. We encourage travelers to experience what has repeatedly placed Norway on international lists of the best destinations,” says Holm.
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Same travel pattern in the EU
Norwegians have always mostly vacationed in their own country, and it is not a particularly Norwegian phenomenon to choose their home country as a destination. More or less, all EU citizens have the same travel pattern as Norwegians when it comes to the distribution between domestic and foreign travel. Figures from the European statistics agency Eurostat show that about two out of three journeys made by EU citizens are in their home country.
Facts
Norwegian tourists in Norway
- 72 per cent of Norwegians preferred a holiday in Norway because they wanted to travel less by air. 53 percent would choose destinations that paid attention to environments and 38 percent would simply travel less abroad.
- Nine out of ten Norwegians have traveled abroad three or more times in the last three years.
- Norwegian tourists in Norway belong mainly to the older age groups.
- Norwegians are mainly motivated by big cities, local culture, art and way of life, dramatic, wild nature and beautiful landscape, and pure and unspoiled nature.
- Main opinion about holidays in Norway: nature, mountains, Lofoten, expensive and beautiful.
- An interesting finding in the survey is that in a normal year there are no differences based on income level in Norway. All four income levels have remained stable at roughly the same measure over time.
Source: Innovation Norway’s tracker survey from 2019
After Corona: Norway for Norwegians, based on a press release from Innovation Norway.
Feature image (on top): Photo: Visit Bergen
