Home > Statistics > Accommodation statistics > 2018 > September > Nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland down by 4.6 per cent in September

Published: 8 November 2018

Nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland down by 4.6 per cent in September

The growth in number of nights spent by foreign tourists in Finland turned downwards in May and the fall continued the whole summer, and nights spent in Finnish accommodation establishments declined further in September 2018. Altogether, 466,000 overnight stays were recorded for foreign visitors, which was 4.6 per cent lower than one year before. In contrast, the number of nights spent by resident tourists remained on level with the previous year and they stayed the night at accommodation establishments almost 1.3 million times. In all, a good 1.7 million overnight stays were recorded at Finnish accommodation establishments, which was 1.3 per cent lower than in September 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 September 2018/2017, %

Overnight stays by visitors from Estonia and Italy increased most in September

Finnish accommodation establishments recorded close on 19,500 overnight stays for Estonian tourists and a good 9,000 for Italian visitors in September 2018. The overnight stays of Estonians increased by 16.1 per cent and those of Italian visitors by 17.1 per cent from September last year. Of nights spent by Estonian visitors almost one-half was recorded in Uusimaa, a good 9,000. Overnight stays by Italian tourists also took place mainly in Uusimaa, where nearly 6,000 overnight stays were recorded for them. Altogether 275,500 overnight stays by foreign tourists were recorded in Uusimaa in September 2018, which was 3.5 per cent lower than twelve months earlier. The share of Uusimaa in all nights spent by foreign visitors was 59 per cent.

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

The top three stood out clearly from the rest. Swedes were the largest group of foreign tourists in September, with nearly 47,000 overnight stays, although their overnight stays went down by 10.5 per cent compared to September last year. Russians came second and 42,000 overnight stays were recorded for them at Finnish accommodation establishments. The figure was 3.4 per cent lower than one year earlier. Germans came third with close on 40,000 overnight stays. The number of their overnight stays was 5.8 per cent lower than in September 2017. Chinese tourists continued in fourth place with a good 33,000 overnight stays. The number was 10.8 per cent higher than last year.

The biggest decreases in nights spent concerning the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland came from Japan and Spain in September 2018. The overnight stays of Japanese visitors decreased by 16.7 per cent and those of Spanish tourists by 12.8 per cent from last year's September. Close on 24,000 overnight stays were recorded for Japanese visitors at accommodation establishments, while overnight stays by Spanish visitors was close on 9,000.

Examined by region, the total number of overnight stays increased in September most in Päijät-Häme, up by 8.9 per cent. In Kainuu, the increase in overnight stays was 6.7 per cent. Overnight stays increased by 5.5 per cent in Central Ostrobothnia and by 5.1 per cent in North Ostrobothnia. By contrast, the total number of overnight stays decreased by around 13 per cent in both Varsinais-Suomi and Åland. In Kymenlaakso, the decrease in overnight stays was 10.2 per cent. In the whole country, the number of overnight stays decreased in total by 1.3 per cent from September 2017.

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

Overnight stays at hotels decreased by 1.3 per cent in September

In September 2018, the total number of nights spent in hotels was 1.4 million, which was 1.3 per cent lower than twelve months earlier. Overnight stays by foreign tourists decreased by 4.9 per cent and hotels recorded close on 391,000 of them. In contrast, overnight stays by resident tourists remained on level with last year, the increase was only 0.1 per cent, and a good million overnight stays was recorded for them.

The occupancy rate of hotel rooms was 57.3 per cent in September. One year earlier, it was 59.8 per cent. Among the regions, the highest occupancy rates of hotel rooms were measured in Uusimaa, 75.1 per cent, and Pirkanmaa, 61.5 per cent. In Vantaa, the hotel room occupancy was 73.6 per cent and in Tampere 68.2 per cent. The hotel room occupancy rate in Helsinki was 82.5 per cent.

In September 2018, the realised average price of a hotel room was EUR 102.38 per day for the whole country. Twelve months previously, it was EUR 100.27.

Hotel room occupancy rate and the monthly average price

Total number of nights spent at all accommodation establishments went up by 1.1 per cent in January to September 2018 period

In January to September 2018, the number of nights spent at accommodation establishments in Finland totalled nearly 17.5 million. This was 1.1 per cent higher than in the corresponding period one year earlier. In total, 12.2 million overnight stays were recorded for resident tourists and a good 5.2 million overnight stays for non-resident tourists. The overnight stays of resident visitors increased by 1.5 per cent and those of non-resident visitors by 0.3 per cent from the previous year's corresponding period.

Russians were still at the top. Their number of nights spent at accommodation establishments in Finland was nearly 638,000 nights in January to September 2018, which was almost the same number as in the respective period of 2017, down by just 0.1 per cent. Germans came next. Overnight stays by German tourists decreased by just 0.7 per cent and accommodation establishments recorded a good 521,000 of them. Swedish tourists came third with 463,500 overnight stays. However, their number was 6.8 per cent lower than in January to September 2017. British tourists came fourth and accommodation establishments recorded a good 332,000 overnight stays for them, which was 3.0 per cent down on the respective period of last year. Chinese visitors rose to the fifth largest group surpassing French visitors, and around 260,000 stays were recorded for them, which was 3.6 per cent more than in the corresponding period of the year before. Nearly 237,000 overnight stays in accommodation establishments were recorded for French tourists. The number was 6.7 per cent higher than in January to September 2017.

Among the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland, overnight stays by Dutch and Spanish visitors increased most in January to September 2018. Overnight stays by Dutch visitors numbered nearly 206,000, which was 9.4 per cent more than in the same period twelve months before. A good 121,000 overnight stays were recorded for Spanish visitors. The number was 8.9 per cent higher than in January to September 2017. The biggest drop still came from overnight stays by Japanese visitors. They spent 163,500 nights at Finnish accommodation establishments, which was 13.3 per cent down on the same period twelve months earlier.

Change in overnight stays in January-September 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, September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 1.2. Capacity and its utilization, January-September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 2.1. Nights spent in all establishments, September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 2.2. Nights spent in all establishments, January-September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 3.1. Hotel capacity and capacity utilization, September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 3.2. Hotel capacity and capacity utilization, January-September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 4.1. Nights spent in hotels, September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 4.2. Nights spent in hotels, January-September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 5.1. Visitor arrivals and nights spent by country of residence, September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 5.2. Visitor arrivals and nights spent by country of residence, January-September 2018 (8.11.2018)
• Appendix table 6. Nights spent in all establishments, 2018 (8.11.2018)

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Updated 8.11.2018