Home > Statistics > Accommodation statistics > 2017 > April > Nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland up by 15.4 per cent in April 2017

Published: 15 June 2017

Nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland up by 15.4 per cent in April 2017

Nights spent by foreign tourists at Finnish accommodation establishments still increased strongly, by 15.4 per cent from last year and nearly 345,000 nights were recorded for them in April 2017. The number of nights spent by resident tourists went up by 4.4 per cent and totalled slightly under 1.2 million at accommodation establishments. Good 1.5 million overnight stays were recorded at Finnish accommodation establishments in April 2017, which was 6.7 per cent more than one year earlier. These figures are preliminary data from Statistics Finland’s statistics on accommodation establishments and they have been collected from accommodation establishments with at least 20 beds or caravan pitches with electricity connection.

Change in overnight stays in April 2017/2016, %

Overnight stays by Spanish and Japanese visitors grew strongly in April

Nearly 11,000 overnight stays were recorded for Spanish visitors at Finnish accommodation establishments, which was as much as 87.8 per cent more than in April 2016. Most overnight stays by Spanish visitors were recorded in Uusimaa, 5,500 nights, and Lapland, 2,770 nights. Overnight stays recorded for Japanese visitors increased by 49.1 per cent, and good 9,130 nights were recorded for them at accommodation establishments in April 2017. Japanese visitors mostly stayed overnight in Uusimaa, where 8,252 nights were spent. The share of Uusimaa in all overnight stays by foreign visitors was 53 per cent and that of Lapland around 14 per cent.

Overnight stays by Russian visitors continued growing in April

Russians were still the largest group of foreign tourists in April 2017. Nearly 43,000 overnight stays were recorded for them at Finnish accommodation establishments, which was 35.6 per cent more than one year before. Overnight stays recorded for Swedes increased by 8.1 per cent year-on-year and totalled 38,000 at accommodation establishments. For the whole country, Swedes were the second largest group of foreign tourists in April 2017. Germans came third with close on 28,000 nights spent, which was 6.1 per cent up on April 2016. British and Norwegian visitors came next. Good 22,300 overnight stays were recorded for British visitors at accommodation establishments, which was 5.6 per cent more than one year before. Overnight stays by Norwegians were up by 30.3 per cent from the year before and they spent nearly 20,300 nights in Finland.

Overnight visits by tourists from almost all the most important countries of inbound tourism into Finland increased in April. In addition to those mentioned above, overnight stays by Swiss tourists increased by 30 per cent and those by Chinese visitors by 26 per cent compared to 2016. Of the most important countries of tourism, overnight stays by visitors from Estonia and the United States diminished by six to seven per cent.

Examined by region, overnight stays increased in April most in South Karelia, up by 20.5 per cent. Overnight stays increased by 19.3 per cent in Kainuu and by 16.5 per cent in Lapland. Growth of over ten per cent was reached in Central Finland, 12.1 per cent, and in North Karelia, 10.3 per cent. By contrast, the total number of overnight stays decreased, for example, in Central Ostrobothnia, by 23.6 per cent, and in Kanta-Häme, by 15.4 per cent. In the whole country, overnight stays increased by 6.7 per cent from April 2016.

Change in overnight stays in April by region 2017/2016, %

Overnight stays at hotels increased by 3.9 per cent

In April 2017, the total number of nights spent in hotels was good 1.2 million, which was 3.9 per cent more than twelve months earlier. Overnight stays by foreign tourists increased by 11.6 per cent and hotels recorded good 305,000 of them. Recorded nights spent by resident tourists in hotels numbered 943,000. The number was 1.6 per cent higher than in April 2016.

The occupancy rate of hotel rooms was 49.6 per cent in April. One year earlier, it was 51.5 per cent. Among the regions, the highest occupancy rates of hotel rooms were measured in Uusimaa, 61.1 per cent, and Varsinais-Suomi, 56.6 per cent. In Vantaa, the hotel room occupancy rate was 66.1 per cent and in Turku 58.0 per cent. The hotel room occupancy rate in Helsinki was 65.1 per cent.

In April 2017, the realised average price of a hotel room was EUR 95.66 per day for the whole country. Twelve months previously it was EUR 93.51.

Hotel room occupancy rate and the monthly average price

Total number of nights spent at all accommodation establishments grew by 7 per cent in January to April 2017

Between January and April 2017, the number of nights spent at accommodation establishments in Finland totalled good 6.3 million. This was 7.0 per cent higher than in the corresponding period one year earlier. Nearly 4.3 million overnight stays were recorded for resident tourists and good two million for non-resident tourists. The overnight stays of resident visitors increased by 2.0 per cent and those of non-resident visitors by 19.5 per cent from the previous year's first four months.

The number of nights spent by Russian visitors at accommodation establishments in Finland totalled good 305,000 in January to April 2017, which was 19.7 per cent up on the respective period of 2016. They were still the biggest country of inbound tourism to Finland. British visitors came next with nearly 179,000 overnight stays. Overnight stays by British tourists went up by 21.4 per cent. Germans were in the third position with 171,500 overnights, The number was 12.0 per cent higher than in January to April 2016. Accommodation establishments also recorded plenty of overnight stays by French and Swedish visitors. Nearly 134,500 nights were recorded for French visitors and good 128,000 for Swedish tourists. The overnight stays of French visitors increased by 12.5 per cent and those of Swedes by 10.3 per cent from the previous year's corresponding period.

Among the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland, overnight stays by Chinese visitors increased most in January to April 2017. Nights spent by Chinese visitors rose to around 82,000, which was as much as 83.5 per cent more than in the corresponding period in 2016. However, Chinese visitors were still behind the figures for Dutch tourists. Nearly 107,000 overnight stays were recorded for Dutch tourists, which was 37.9 per cent more than in January to April 2016.

Change in overnight stays in January-April 2017/2016, %

Source: Accommodation Statistics. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Marjut Tuominen 029 551 3556, Ossi Nurmi 029 551 2984, liikenne.matkailu@stat.fi

Director in charge: Sami Saarikivi

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1.1. Capacity and its utilization, April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 1.2. Capacity and its utilization, January-April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 2.1. Nights spent in all establishments, April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 2.2. Nights spent in all establishments, January-April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 3.1. Hotel capacity and capacity utilization, April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 3.2. Hotel capacity and capacity utilization, January-April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 4.1. Nights spent in hotels, April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 4.2. Nights spent in hotels, January-April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 5.1. Visitor arrivals and nights spent by country of residence, April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 5.2. Visitor arrivals and nights spent by country of residence, January-April 2017 (15.6.2017)
• Appendix table 6. Nights spent in all establishments, 2017 (15.6.2017)

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Updated 15.6.2017