There are multiple ways to follow travel trends in tourism regions. The most common way is to look at bed nights in registered accommodation. Nevertheless, there is an increasing demand for non-registered (e.g., Airbnb) accommodation establishments all over the world and measuring them becomes more and more relevant.
Previously, we examined tourism in the Nordic countries in 2021 based on registered bed nights, and now these statistics can be compared to bed nights in non-registered accommodation. In this article, we have gathered up some findings from non-registered accommodation statistics.
Out of the Nordic countries, the share of nights spent in non-registered accommodation was highest in Iceland
In 2021, the share of nights spent in non-registered accommodation out of all nights spent was up to fifteen per cent in Iceland. In Finland the share was twelve per cent and in Norway nine per cent. In Sweden and Denmark, the share of non-registered accommodation was only six per cent.
Among foreign visitors, the use of non-registered accommodation was the highest in Finland. In 2021, up to 31 per cent of all nights were spent in non-registered accommodation in Finland. In Denmark, only 10 per cent out of all nights were spent in non-registered accommodation.
Domestic bed nights in non-registered accommodation increased in all Nordic countries in 2021
Domestic visitors spent more nights in non-registered accommodation in 2021 than in 2020. Domestic bed nights in non-registered accommodation increased the most in Iceland (40%) and in Finland (37%). The number of domestic bed nights in non-registered accommodation was highest in Sweden (2 M).
Foreign bed nights in non-registered accommodation increased the most in Iceland, by 64 per cent and second most in Sweden (48 %). However, the number of foreign bed nights in non-registered accommodation was highest in Denmark (1.6 M). In Finland and Norway, the number of foreign bed nights in non-registered accommodation decreased a bit from previous year.
During the first half of 2022, the number of foreign visitors multiplied in all Nordic countries
During January-June 2022, the number of foreign non-registered bed nights increased drastically in all Nordic countries. In Norway the change was greatest as foreign non-registered bed nights increased ninefold in January-June 2022.
From September 2021 to April 2022 domestic travel volume in non-registered accommodation was highest in Finland. It seems that in Finland, the meaning of non-registered accommodation to tourism is relatively high, especially during winter season.
Travel trends are easy to estimate through non-registered accommodation data
Non-registered accommodation data brings opportunities to predict registered accommodation data and evaluate travel trends more precisely. With reservation data, we estimate changes in all bed nights and achieve reliable results, which can also take external factors (e.g., events) into account.
In addition to overnight visitors, daily visitors bring a remarkable financial impact to tourism regions. Daily visitors can be measured through movement data (based on mobile operator data) which is already launched by Visitory in Finland and Sweden. Another option is to evaluate daily visitors through our tourism surveys where their spending can also be measured.
Domestic day trips by Finns and Swedes increased drastically after the pandemic
In 2021, both Finns and Swedes made more day trips in their home country than before the pandemic. Overall, domestic trips increased in both countries, although overnight trips increased significantly less. Staying with friends and relatives were emphasized in overnight trips, while domestic registered overnight stays did not reach the pre-pandemic level.
Sources: Visitory.io, Eurostat, Tillväxtverket, Statistics Finland, SSB, Statistics Island, Statistics Denmark