it is a historic high that Norway tourism experienced in the first half of 2025. The country recorded 17.43 million overnights, a growth of 16% over the same period of 2019, the last year before COVID.
Meanwhile, the growth from foreign markets was even more phenomenal. Total overnights jumped by 32% compared to 2019 at 5.74 million. Foreign visitors generated 39% of all recorded overnights during H1 2025.
In Europe, Norway tourism has been consequently one of the fastest to recover from the pandemics. Looking at European inbound, overnights grew the most from Switzerland (+72%), Italy (+71%) and Belgium (+69%).
Germany remained however the largest incoming source among foreign markets. Total overnights reached 946,395 (+32%), followed by Sweden at 549,930 overnights (+7%), the UK at 479,938 (+46%), the Netherlands at 337,688 (+44%) and France at 254,012 overnights (+46%).
Largest overseas markets in terms of overnights were the USA. At 694, 929, US overnights skyrocketed by 71% in H1 2025. American travelers represented the second highest source market behind Germany. Meanwhile, Canada did even better in growth terms : overnights jumped by 81% to reach 42,166.
However, the demand from Northeast Asian incoming markets was characterized by a severe decline in overnights. Japan was down by 38% (26,435 overnight in H1 2025), South Korea by 33% (28,856 overnights) and China by 13% (153 896 overnights). These figures were however balanced by stark progression from Taiwan (+64%) and Australia (+41%). While Brazil is also emerging as an important market with total overnights up by 46%.
A very positive image of Norway
In a travel barometer published earlier in 2025 by Innovation Norway – the main marketing agency for Norway, interest from foreign markets for the country continued to be high and stable.
Motivations to visit the country were the following: Norway scored high for its magnificent nature, although the fjords were not well known among the youngest travellers. There was also a growing number of people who believed Norway has exciting cities, culture and history.
New in the survey was that travelers considered Norway to be a reliable destination with a pleasant atmosphere that is not overcrowded with tourists. Norway also has high credibility with regards to climate and the environment, and many people perceive traveling to Norway as a sustainable choice.
