Holiday rentals in 2022: Foreign guests return to Denmark

Last year, Danes flocked to the country’s holiday homes. But what are the trends for holiday home rentals in Denmark in 2022? One of the country’s leading holiday home agencies gives the answer here.

Although the typical holiday home guest in Denmark is historically German, the majority of the tourists in the country’s holiday homes in recent years have been Danish. According to Statistics Denmark, Danes accounted for more than 10 million overnight stays in the first 11 months of 2021. However, according to one of the country’s leading holiday home agencies, DanCenter, preliminary booking numbers for 2022 indicates that the Danes have found other alternatives to holiday homes this year:

– The trend right now points in the direction that the number of overnight stays from Danish guests in 2022 will be fewer than in recent years. We can currently see a decrease of 24 percent in our Danish bookings for the whole year compared to the same time last year. Although we hope to continue to have the pleasure of a large number of Danish guests this year, it is expected that the level will return to normal from before the corona pandemic, says Kim Holmsted, who is CEO of DanCenter and chairman of Feriehusudlejernes Brancheforening.

Although it indicates that the Danish guests will change holiday plans in 2022, the current booking figures, according to Kim Holmsted, testify that Denmark has gradually regained its position as a popular holiday destination among foreign guests. In this connection, he highlights three trends for bookings in 2022.

German guests return

The Germans are crazy about holiday homes in Denmark. Figures from Statistics Denmark show that the Germans accounted for no less than 64,2 percent of overnight stays in Danish holiday homes in 2019, and this now indicates that they are slowly returning.

– Our preliminary data for 2022 show that the German guests account for the vast majority of our bookings, and this has always been the case, with the exception of the last two years, where corona has characterized the whole world. So far, the Germans account for 60 percent of all our bookings in 2022, and it is extremely gratifying for both us and the many local communities in the country’s cottage areas, says Kim Holmsted and emphasizes that the figures especially cover stays in January and February, where the number has increased by 134 percent compared to the same time last year.

Several Norwegian guests visit Denmark

At DanCenter, the Norwegian guests have so far not accounted for large parts of the bookings in the Danish holiday homes. But at the moment, holiday home landlords are seeing an increase in Norwegian bookings of 74 percent in 2022 compared to the same time last year.

– Our Norwegian bookings in 2022 are for the time being evenly distributed throughout the year. But we see the greatest demand in January and February, where bookings increase by as much as 450 percent compared to the same time last year, and in July and August, when the increase is 71 percent also compared to the same time last year, says Kim Holmsted.

The Dutch want to holiday in Denmark

According to VisitDenmark, the Netherlands is traditionally a market with high travel intensity, and this indicates that many Dutch people are heading for Danish holiday homes in 2022. At DanCenter, they are experiencing an annual increase in Dutch bookings of 17 percent, which especially covers stays in winter and spring:

– We are looking into a year where the demand from Dutch guests indicates reaching new heights. If we, for example, compare the number of bookings in March and April, which are made per today, with the same time last year, we see an increase of 211 percent. This indicates that the Dutch will increasingly take Easter holidays or other spring holidays in Denmark, says Kim Holmsted and explains that there are also significantly more Dutch bookings in January and February with an increase of 285 percent compared to the same time last year.