New record year for Chinese tourists in Norway

Beer-drinkingOslo.Beer-drinking in summer sun at "Lektern" at Aker Brygge in Oslo.Photo : Knut Fjeldstad / SCANPIX

New record year for Chinese tourists in Norway

Between January and May, an increase of 71 per cent has been recorded in the number of Chinese tourists coming to Norway compared with the same period last year.

 

During the first five months of the year, 81,590 overnight stays were recorded among Chinese tourists, according to Dagens Næringsliv.

– It’s a formidable increase, and by far the biggest increase in the Nordic countries, says Per Holte, Marketing Manager for Asia in Innovation Norway.

In 2013 there were 17,759 overnight stays among Chinese people in the same period. The following year, it decreased by over 1,500. By 2015, the number doubled to 36,390. Last year there were 47,761 Chinese tourists.

Only in May this year, 43,000 nights were registered, against 27,000 in the same month in 2016.

“At our foreign stations issuing visas to Chinese people, we see the trend going up this summer. Personally, I do not think the increase will be as high as in May, but the forecast is 20 to 30 percent growth in the summer season compared with last year, Holte says.

One of the explanations is probably the value of the Norwegian krone that has weakened against Chinese yuan in recent years.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today