Dear all partners and friends,
The holiday season provides us with the opportunity to reflect on another great year for tourism in the Stavanger region!
We have seen positive growth, and have had the honor of welcoming guests from all over the world to the Edge of Norway!
Another successful year for the travel industry in the Stavanger region
The Stavanger region can look back on a successful year for the travel industry with good numbers and growth in our strategic markets. A record early start for leisure visitors in addition to high activity in the MICE segments as well as for events, gave us record figures for overnight stays in the first 6 months of the year. A whopping 1 236 223 was a growth of 5% compared to 2022.
We saw the same pattern during the summer, with record numbers from attractions as well. Almost 100,000 people visited the Pulpit Rock in July alone, and most museums in the Stavanger region reported record visitor numbers during the summer. There is no doubt that international tourism is back to 2019 levels. And they come from our key markets such as Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the USA as well as France and Italy.
New members make us a more attractive and sustainable destination
The Edge of Norway family is growing. In 2023 we had 11 confirmed new partners who came on board as official members of the destination company. These are exciting companies and great attractions, making the destination more attractive for tourists and visitors.
We see new members represented also in the strong trends such as high-end and unique accommodation, such as Laurits Haaland Lodge, the floating sauna movement, such as Book Sauna, and as well as new attractions using digital technology, such as Haven E-sport.
Some of the new members are key players in the travel industry, such as Kolumbus as well as Go-Ahead Nordic, providing public transportation such as bus, boat, and rail services to visitors as well as local travelers. This is important when we work hard to provide sustainable solutions for our visitors.
A sustainable destination getting ready for future growth
As we look back at a year of positive growth and high activity, we are more than ever focusing on becoming a sustainable destination. The guests are more than ever looking for green solutions with a low footpring.
Together with our municipalities and partners, we have embarked on a project of being certified as a sustainable destination in the Innovation Norway-program “Merket for bærekraftig reisemål”. This process with cover 30+ criteria and more than 80 indicatitors to rate how we score as a destination. Together with the local community and our partners, we will make sure to meet the standard and hence be a certified sustainable destination in 2024/2025.
In the meanwhile, we want to wish you a happy holiday and all the best for next year!
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