More tourists are spending their summer in Denmark

Tourism in Denmark is continuing to grow in summer 2026, with hotels across the country selling more rooms than during last year’s record season. The increase is being driven mainly by Copenhagen and the Triangle Region, while Denmark’s warm weather is challenging the idea that visitors travel north only to escape the heat of southern Europe.

Between 1 and 21 July, Danish hotels sold 3.5 percent more rooms than during the same period in 2025, according to figures collected by the analysis platform Benchmarking Alliance and the Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk Erhverv), reported by TV 2.

The preliminary figures cover 225 hotels. Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) will publish the final national data later in the year, but the industry expects the previous July record to be surpassed.

Tourism in Denmark grows around Copenhagen

The strongest increase was recorded in the Triangle Region (Trekantområdet), the urban and industrial area around cities including Vejle, Kolding and Fredericia. Hotels there sold 5.8 percent more rooms than in the corresponding period last year.

Copenhagen recorded an increase of 4.8 percent, confirming its central role in Danish tourism. By contrast, hotels in Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg sold fewer rooms than during the same weeks of 2025.

The comparison for Aarhus is influenced by an unusually busy programme in July 2025, which included events connected with Denmark’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, a choir festival and the windsurfing world championships.

Hotel operators say Copenhagen attracts visitors who are interested in Nordic design and lifestyles, but also benefits from its accessibility. Peter Høgh Pedersen, director of Hotel Villa Copenhagen, told TV 2 that most of the hotel’s guests come from the USA and Germany.

“They also choose Copenhagen because it is easy to reach. The airport is almost in the middle of the city, and travelling back and forth by metro is inexpensive,” he said.

Copenhagen accounts for a growing share of overnight stays

Copenhagen was already Denmark’s leading tourist destination before the current summer season. According to VisitDenmark figures reported by TV 2 Kosmopol, the city recorded 11.9 million tourist overnight stays in 2025, compared with 8.9 million in 2019.

This represents an increase of around 34 percent in six years, or approximately three million additional overnight stays.

Together, the municipalities of Copenhagen, Varde and Ringkøbing-Skjern accounted for around one third of all Danish tourist overnight stays in 2025. Varde and Ringkøbing-Skjern, both on the west coast of Jutland, are important destinations for holiday homes and coastal tourism.

Final data from Statistics Denmark show that the country registered 67.7 million tourist overnight stays in 2025, up 2 percent from 2024. Hotels recorded the largest absolute increase, with around one million additional overnight stays.

The growth continued during the first five months of 2026. Statistics Denmark recorded about 19.3 million overnight stays across the country between January and May, compared with 18.5 million during the same period of 2025.

From coolcation to hotcation

Nordic tourism has increasingly been associated with the concept of the “coolcation”, in which travellers choose northern destinations to avoid high temperatures in southern Europe. Denmark’s tourism industry believes that explanation may be becoming less relevant after a summer marked by unusually warm weather in the country itself.

“Most people still want sun and summer. This year, Denmark is simply one of the places where they can find it,” Lars Ramme Nielsen, industry director at Dansk Erhverv, told TV 2. “One could almost speak of a ‘hotcation’ rather than a ‘coolcation’.”

The weather may have supported bookings, but industry representatives argue that climate alone does not explain the trend.

“The sun can give us a tailwind, but growth also comes from strong experiences and good marketing,” Nielsen said.

The increase is not limited to hotels. Organisations representing holiday-home operators and campsites also expect another record year, with foreign visitors accounting for much of the growth.

The provisional July figures nevertheless show that the benefits are unevenly distributed. Copenhagen and parts of southern Jutland are expanding faster than Denmark’s other large cities, reinforcing existing geographical differences within the tourism sector. Final statistics will indicate whether the strong start to July was sustained throughout the month and whether Denmark has set another tourism record.