Summer heat sets tourism records
Historic summer temperatures in Denmark this summer have led to record tourism numbers. But our neighbours are even more popular.
Denmark has been hot this year. Very hot. That is among the reasons that Danish tourism hit a new record in overnight stays in the first half of 2018. Overnight stays amounted to 20.6 million in total, which is 0.6 million more than the previous record from 2017.
“In the first six months of the year we’ve seen a 4.5% rise in international tourists, which is in large part due to the long, hot summer we’ve had this year,” says Head of Tourism Sune K. Jensen, the Confederation of Danish Industry.
Overseas visitors were responsible for 9.8 million of overnight stays. According to DI’s calculations, this means that the tourism industry earned about DKK 8 billion in revenue from overseas guests during the first half of the year.
The heat has definitely given us a greater competitive edge in relation to favourite holiday destinations Martin Iversen, CEO, Enjoy Resorts
Among those who have profited is holiday rental company Enjoy Resorts.
“We’ve had record turnover in July, and we expect the same for August. The warm weather has had a major impact on the number of visitors, reversing the trend from last year’s rainy summer. And the sunny days have really helped brand Denmark internationally,” says Martin Iversen, CEO, Enjoy Resorts.
Meanwhile, the company has also benefitted from the many Danes who decided to spend the summer at home.
“The heat has definitely given us a greater competitive edge in relation to favourite holiday destinations such as Spain,” says Martin Iversen.
Danish tourism needs a boost
However, despite the record, Sune K. Jensen is not wholly satisfied with the figures, because Denmark has not enjoyed the same growth as tourism industries in our neighbouring countries.
“In fact, we’ve lost market shares to the countries around us. In the first half of 2018 alone, Denmark lost out on DKK 1 billion in turnover, and it is particularly the Netherlands and Sweden that have managed to attract more tourists than us,” says Sune K. Jensen.
He notes that this highlights the importance of the agreement from May in which politicians decided to modernise public sector initiatives to boost tourism.
“It will help us attract more tourists with spending power to the country, thereby giving Danish tourism a much-needed boost and equipping us to better compete with neighbouring countries,” says Sune K. Jensen.
