Abstract
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- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Product coverage
Airline capacity and utilisation; Arrivals by country of origin; Arrivals by
mode of transport; Arrivals by purpose of visit; Car rental services by
sector; Demand factors; Departures by destination; Departures by mode of
transport; Departures by purpose of visit; Domestic tourism by destination;
Domestic tourism by mode of transport; Tourism receipts and expenditure;
Tourist attractions; Transportation; Travel accommodation; Travel retail
services
Executive summary
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The increasing role of tourism in the Norwegian economy
Tourism is an important contributor to the Norwegian economy. Although the
slowdown in the world economy hit Norwegian tourism during 2001 and 2002,
Norway was less affected than other countries and was able to strongly recover
in 2005. One of the main contributors to this positive development was the
strong growth in the GDP that accounted for approximately 9% increase in 2005.
Norwegian nature is still the main attraction for tourists
Norwegian nature is the major attraction for international and domestic
tourists. Natural parks and areas of natural beauty accounted for the highest
growth of all tourism attractions in Norway. This was mainly because of the
diversity of the natural attractions, and good infrastructure in national
parks. Norway is also considered to have one of the cleanest environments on
earth. It is likely that Norway will continue to preserve the environment, as
it became the first European country to sign the geotourism charter that
focuses on the conservation of the natural habitat.
Significant increase in the number of 'new' arrivals
A strong increase in the number of arrivals in Norway was due to the
contribution of low cost carriers and stiff competition in low ticket prices.
Arrivals by sea were stronger in 2005, especially in the main ports in Oslo
and in Western Norway. Additionally, new visa regulations were put in place to
allow more tourists to enter Norway. This increased the number of tourists
coming from countries such as Japan, Russia and China.
More-demanding consumers increase competition and diversification of products
Norwegians expect to increasingly travel to exotic destinations. They are also
more demanding in terms of better quality and lower prices. At the end of the
review period, they were more interested in getting involved with the culture,
art and history of a destination. This was mainly because travellers became
more knowledgeable and gained more experience with every trip. Therefore, the
main players in transportation and accommodation focused on offering a variety
of services that matched new travellers' expectations. As a result, there was
strong competition among different players.
Strong internet sales fuelled by consumer adaptability and high rates of female participation
Internet transactions in Norway played a very significant role in Norwegian
travel and tourism over the review period. This was mainly because of the
growing penetration of internet access among households and in Norwegian
businesses. This led several players in travel and tourism to develop
innovative web platforms that allowed customers access to information in real
time.
Norwegians are fast adopters of new trends on the internet because the market
is still very transparent. The strong increase in the number of online
transactions was also caused by an increase in the number of women using the
internet for buying purposes. This situation was particularly significant in
travel and tourism, because women in Norway are the decision makers when
choosing a travel destination.
Improving conditions for travel and tourism to promote further growth
The operational environment had a very strong performance. The interest rates
in Norway contributed to strong development in different sectors. The high
disposable incomes boosted household demand for services, meaning more money
to spend on leisure. Norwegians travelled increasingly to different
destinations due to the appreciation of the Norwegian krone against the US
dollar.
The strongest increase in travel retail was related to the exchange services
that are expected to increase by a CAGR of 33% during the forecast period.
However, one of the most dynamic sectors for the forecast period is related to
internet sales. Several industries, such as transportation, accommodation and
travel retail, experienced a significant increase in online sales. Therefore,
it is expected that travel and tourism will strongly engage in online services
and boost sales over the forecast period.
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