USA tops Norwegian travel statistics for 2017
The United States of America trumps travel in 2017, but Norwegians still can’t resist the charm of Spain.
USA remains the most popular destination for Norwegian travellers, closely followed by Spain and the United Kingdom. The Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com reveals a 2 per cent hike in accommodation prices globally for the first time in three years
After three years of remaining even steven, prices travellers paid for overnight accommodation rose 2 per cent globally in 2017, according to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) by Hotels.com. Despite the overall global increase, Norwegians travellers paid less per night in a quarter of their 100 favourite destinations such as the Japan, Turkey and Philippines.
The HPI was set at 100 in its inaugural year, 2004. The index format allows Hotels.com to highlight year-over-year variations in actual prices paid per night by travellers without foreign exchange fluctuations distorting the picture.
Among the countries analysed in the latest HPI, the average price paid by Norwegians for a room in 2017 in their 100 most popular outbound countries was NOK 1,177, compared to NOK 1,137 the year before. Places where Norwegians paid more last year than in 2016 were popular holiday destinations in Europe including Italy (from NOK 1,275 to NOK 1,299), Germany (from NOK 1,119 to NOK 1,153), and Denmark (from NOK 1,427 to NOK 1,455).
Despite Norwegians travelling to Spain experiencing an average price per night increase of 7 per cent and up to 12 per cent in the most popular destinations such as Torremolinos, Norway’s love affair with the country is far from over, as it remains the second most popular travel destination for Norwegians.
Johan Svanström, President of Hotels.com states: “The slight increase in average accommodation prices globally combined with numerous markets having record visitor growth signals a strong travel economy and a growing desire from consumers to experience the world. Cultural events have inspired travel more than ever before. We aspire not to just stand by and observe the action, but to instead actually partake in it.”
Most Popular Countries for Norwegians travellers in 2017 1
Country | Rank, 2017 | Avg, 2017 | Avg, 2016 | Diff (%) |
United States | 1 | 1,662 | 1,675 | -1 |
Spain | 2 | 1,279 | 1,199 | 7 |
United Kingdom | 3 | 1,381 | 1,42 | -3 |
Sweden | 4 | 1,317 | 1,314 | 0 |
Thailand | 5 | 716 | 700 | 2 |
Italy | 6 | 1,299 | 1,275 | 2 |
Germany | 7 | 1,153 | 1,119 | 3 |
Denmark | 8 | 1,455 | 1,427 | 2 |
Poland | 9 | 826 | 809 | 2 |
France | 10 | 1,344 | 1,294 | 4 |
Despite the increases in European prices for Norwegian travellers, they continue to travel to their favourite European city hot spots. In 2017, London topped the list as the most popular city for Norwegians, closely followed by Copenhagen.
Most popular international destinations for Norwegian travellers
- London
- Copenhagen
- Stockholm
- New York
- Gdansk
- Gothenburg
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Paris
- Mallorca
Looking at the 100 most popular countries Norwegians visited in 2017, the Maldives was unsurprisingly where Norwegians spent the most on average for accommodation, at the price of a staggering NOK 3,592 per day. This was closely followed by Monaco (NOK 3,420) and the Bahamas (NOK 2,773). Meanwhile, some of the best value for money accommodation are to be found in Asia where Norwegians pays as little as NOK 464 on average for a hotel room in Nepal.
Popular countries where Norwegians paid the least in 2017 1
Country | Rank, 2017 | Avg, 2017 | Avg, 2016 | Diff (%) |
Nepal | 91 | 464 | 532 | -13 |
Cambodia | 47 | 486 | 484 | 0 |
Laos | 90 | 498 | 539 | -8 |
Turkey | 22 | 590 | 627 | -6 |
Zambia | 85 | 605 | 1,129 | -46 |
Tunisia | 86 | 628 | 685 | -8 |
Egypt | 55 | 636 | 692 | -8 |
Ukraine | 48 | 647 | 660 | -2 |
Philippines | 28 | 658 | 699 | -6 |
Albania | 73 | 666 | 596 | 12 |
For international travellers visiting Norway in 2017, Oslo, Bergen and the municipality of Ullsensaker (Oslo Airport) remains the most popular destinations despite the average price per night in Bergen showing an increase of 5 per cent per night compared to 2016.
Most popular Norwegian destinations in 2017 for international travellers
- Oslo
- Bergen
- Ullsensaker (Oslo Airport)
- Tromsø
- Stavanger
- Trondheim
- Kristiansand
- Aalesund
- Lillehammer
- Drammen
© Hotels.com / #Norway Today
1 Note, all numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number, the prices are averages converted to NOK. Rank is popularity among the top 100 countries.