Home > Statistics > Accommodation statistics > 2018 > August > Nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland decreased by 2.6 per cent in August

Published: 5 October 2018

Nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland decreased by 2.6 per cent in August

The number of nights spent by foreign tourists at Finnish accommodation establishments decreased in August 2018. Almost 754,000 nights spent were recorded for foreign visitors, which was 2.6 per cent lower than twelve months earlier. In contrast, the number of nights spent by resident tourists increased by 2.5 per cent and they overnighted almost 1.6 million times at accommodation establishments. In all, 2.3 million overnight stays were recorded at Finnish accommodation establishments, which was 0.8 per cent more than in August 2017. 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 August 2018/2017, %

Overnight stays by visitors from Estonia and Spain increased most in August

Finnish accommodation establishments recorded close on 24,000 overnight stays for Estonian tourists and good 27,000 for Spanish visitors in August 2018. The number of nights spent by tourists from Estonia increased by 12.4 per cent and those by Spanish tourists by 10.0 per cent from August last year. The number of recorded nights spent by Estonian visitors was highest in Uusimaa, nearly 10,000. Overnight stays by Spanish tourists also took place mainly in Uusimaa, where around 18,000 overnight stays were recorded for them. Nearly 385,000 overnight stays by foreign tourists were recorded in Uusimaa in August 2018, which was 2.5 per cent lower than twelve months earlier. The share of Uusimaa in all nights spent by foreign visitors was 51 per cent.

Russia, Germany and Sweden were the biggest countries of inbound tourism in August

The top three continued strong, only the order changes. Russians were the largest group of foreign tourists with nearly 91,000 overnight stays. The number was almost the same as one year before; declining by just 0.1 per cent. Germans were the second biggest group and nearly 89,000 overnight stays were recorded for them at Finnish accommodation establishments, which was, however, 7.2 per cent lower than one year before. Swedes were third with close on 75,000 nights spent. The number of their overnight stays was 2.6 per cent lower than in August 2017. Chinese tourists came fourth with almost 42,000 recorded overnight stays. The number was 1.6 per cent higher than last year.

Nights spent by visitors from almost all the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland decreased in August. The biggest decreases came from Great Britain and the United States. The overnight stays of British visitors decreased by 16.1 per cent and those of visitors from the United States by 11.1 per cent from last year's August. Slightly over 34,000 overnight stays were recorded for British visitors at Finnish accommodation establishments and good 36,000 for visitors from the United States. Despite the decrease, they were the next biggest countries of inbound tourism after China in August 2018.

Examined by region, the total number of overnight stays increased in August most in Central Finland, up by 13.3 per cent. In Kanta-Häme and Päijät-Häme, the growth in overnight stays amounted to around nine per cent in each. Overnight stays in Ostrobothnia went up by 7.0 per cent. By contrast, the total number of overnight stays decreased in Varsinais-Suomi, by 6.6 per cent. Overnight stays decreased in South Karelia, Etelä-Savo and Central Ostrobothnia by around six per cent in each. In the whole country, the number of overnight stays increased in total by 0.8 per cent from August 2017.

Change in overnight stays in August by region 2018/2017, %

Overnight stays at hotels increased by 1.1 per cent in August

In August 2018, the total number of nights spent in hotels was good 1.7 million, which was 1.1 per cent higher than twelve months earlier. Overnight stays by foreign tourists decreased by 3.2 per cent and hotels recorded a total of 587,000 of them. In contrast, overnight stays by resident tourists went up by 3.5 per cent and totalled good 1.1 million.

The occupancy rate of hotel rooms was 60.2 per cent in August. One year earlier, it was 62.2 per cent. Among the regions, the highest occupancy rates of hotel rooms were measured in Uusimaa, 78.6 per cent, and in Varsinais-Suomi, 65.2 per cent. In Espoo, the hotel room occupancy rate was 72.0 per cent and in Turku, 72.7 per cent. The hotel room occupancy rate in Helsinki was 87.3 per cent.

In August 2018, the realised average price of a hotel room was EUR 101.98 per day for the whole country. Twelve months previously, it was EUR 101.22.

Hotel room occupancy rate and the monthly average price

Total number of nights spent at all accommodation establishments grew by 1.5 per cent in January to August 2018

Between January and August 2018, the number of nights spent at accommodation establishments in Finland totalled nearly 15.7 million. This was 1.5 per cent higher than in the corresponding period one year earlier. In total, 10.9 million overnight stays were recorded for resident tourists and close on 4.8 million for non-resident tourists. The overnight stays of resident visitors increased by 1.7 per cent and those of non-resident visitors by 0.9 per cent from the previous year's corresponding period.

As usual, Russians were still at the top. Their number of nights spent at accommodation establishments in Finland was nearly 600,000 nights in January to August 2018, which was almost the same number as in the respective period of 2017, up by just 0.1 per cent. Germans came next. Overnight stays by German tourists decreased by just 0.3 per cent and accommodation establishments recorded close on 482,000 of them. Swedish tourists came third with 417,000 overnight stays. However, their number was 6.3 per cent lower than in January to August 2017. British tourists came fourth and accommodation establishments recorded around 308,000 overnight stays for them, which was 2.7 per cent down on the respective period of last year. French and Chinese visitors shared the fifth position and 227,000 nights were recorded for both of them. Overnight stays by French visitors increased by 7.4 per cent and those by Chinese visitors by 2.7 per cent. The number of overnight stays by visitors from the United States went over the limit of 200,000 and nearly 201,000 stays were recorded for them at accommodation establishments, which was 3.5 per cent more than in the corresponding period of the year before.

Among the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland, overnight stays by Spanish and Dutch visitors increased most in January to August 2018. Nights spent by Spanish visitors numbered good 112,000, which was 11.2 per cent more than in the same period twelve months earlier. Overnight stays by Dutch visitors rose to nearly 195,000. The number was 9.4 per cent higher than in January to August 2017. The biggest drop came still from overnight stays by Japanese visitors. They spent close on 140,000 nights at accommodation establishments, which was 12.7 per cent down on the same period twelve months earlier.

Change in overnight stays in January-August 2018/2017, %

Source: Accommodation Statistics. Statistics Finland

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

Director in charge: Mari Ylä-Jarkko

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1.1. Capacity and its utilization, August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 1.2. Capacity and its utilization, January-August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 2.1. Nights spent in all establishments, August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 2.2. Nights spent in all establishments, January-August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 3.1. Hotel capacity and capacity utilization, August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 3.2. Hotel capacity and capacity utilization, January-August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 4.1. Nights spent in hotels, August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 4.2. Nights spent in hotels, January-August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 5.1. Visitor arrivals and nights spent by country of residence, August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 5.2. Visitor arrivals and nights spent by country of residence, January-August 2018 (5.10.2018)
• Appendix table 6. Nights spent in all establishments, 2018 (5.10.2018)

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Updated 5.10.2018