Visiting Denmark: Tourism on course for record-breaking summer

International tourists are flocking to Denmark this summer. The record from 2022 will likely be broken. Hotels and holiday centres are witnessing a large increase in the number of guests. Many Danes will stay at home, but increasing numbers have an eye out for budget trips south

CPH POST Reporter

Jun 27, 2023

It promises to be a golden summer for tourism in Denmark, surpassing the heights of 2022.

Last year offered a record 19 million overnight stays, and now a new report from DI predicts the number will increase by almost 4 percent – the equivalent of 700,000 more.

“Especially Danish hotels and holiday centres can look forward to more overnight guests. They will get 6.8 percent more guests than they did in 2022, which was also a record year for the industry,” said Maria Krüger Torp, the head of DI Tourism and Experiences.

International guests drive the record development, accounting for 2.6 of the 6.8 percent rise, meaning their numbers have increased by 12.5 percent.

Dutch discovering the joy of Danish summerhouses
The holiday rental market benefits from tourists from Germany and the Netherlands in particular.

“The Dutch have really opened their eyes to Denmark’s beautiful summers. This is also due to a particularly well-executed marketing effort,” said Torp.

However, she warns that the high demand for overnight stays in Denmark should be met by more charging stations for electric cars.

“The roll-out of electric charging points must be accelerated. Both in the tourism hubs and regionally, so that we don’t run the risk of tourists not choosing us for that reason. Electric cars are also becoming far more common as a means of holiday transport for our neighbours in Norway and Sweden,” cautioned Torp.

More booking southern Europe holidays
The hot summer has so far caused many people in Denmark to stay home. But the prospect of more normal Danish weather, wind, showers and changing temperatures means more people are now seeking holidays in southern Europe.

Denmark’s largest travel company, Spies, has seen an increase in bookings of 74 percent in the past week, according to its communications and press manager Sofie Folden Lund, who attributes part of the rise to the “unstable weather forecast”.

At Spies, it is cheap trips to Mallorca, Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus and various destinations in Turkey that are particularly enticing people in Denmark.