The number of hotel nights set a record in the first half of 2024.
The latest overnight stay figures from Danmarks Statistik show that the hotels have got a good grip on the guests. Never have so many hotel nights been sold in the period January-June as was the case in the first half of 2024.
Growth for the first half of 2024 is 3.8% compared to the same period last year.
Compared to 2019, the most recent normal travel year before Covid-19, the growth is even more significant: An increase of 16.8%.
Internationals return
“During recent years, Denmark has become an increasingly attractive destination for both Danish and foreign tourists,” says Pia E. Voss, managing director of the industry association HORESTA.
“A large part of the foreign tourists we have been missing in the wake of corona have again set course for Denmark.”
“In particular, the Germans, Americans and British have recovered very well, while we are still waiting a bit for the Norwegians and Swedes. The Asians are also well on their way, but are still below the level before covid,” she says.
The capital is a main driver
Still, growth is not geographically evenly distributed. There is growth in 3 out of 5 regions, but it is mainly hotels in the Capital Region that drive the growth.
In the capital, the hotels had 5.8% more nights than in the first half of 2023, while the increase was 1.1% for the hotels in the rest of the country.
There have been significantly more hotel rooms in Copenhagen in recent years. The many new rooms have also had an impact on the occupancy rate, explains HORESTA.
The occupancy rate has increased compared to the first half of 2023, while there are still more available rooms in the city compared to prior Covid-19.
“An expansion of the capital’s hotel capacity of almost 50 percent over six years must and must present challenges.”
“But Copenhagen is an internationally recognized metropolis and is high on the list of many foreign tourists when they are looking for their next adventure. It clearly contributes to the fact that the capital’s occupancy rate is now approaching the level from before the covid crisis,” says Pia E. Voss.
Business tourism is lagging
Especially in the capital, however, business tourism is still holding back compared to before corona, but it is expected to pick up within 1-2 years, predicts the industry association.
