Denmark tourism recorded its highest number of overnight stays for a first half of the year in 2026, with 26.08 million stays between January and June, according to new figures from Statistics Denmark. The total was 565,000 higher than in the same period of 2025, an increase of 2 percent, driven overwhelmingly by visitors from abroad.
Foreign visitors drove Denmark tourism growth
Foreign tourists accounted for 505,000 of the 565,000 additional overnight stays recorded during the first six months of the year. Overnight stays by Danish residents increased by only around 60,000, leaving the domestic total broadly unchanged from 2025.
The figures show that the strongest growth came from hotels and holiday centres. Hotels recorded almost 480,000 additional overnight stays, an increase of 5 percent, while stays at holiday centres rose by 9 percent.
Other accommodation segments performed less strongly. Overnight stays in holiday homes declined by 1 percent and hostels by 4 percent. Campsites remained broadly at the same level as in the first half of 2025, while marinas recorded a 6 percent increase.
June was weaker despite the record first half
The record first half did not extend to June. Denmark recorded 6.77 million tourist overnight stays during the month, 3 percent fewer than in June 2025.
Statistics Denmark said the comparison was partly affected by the timing of Pentecost, which fell in May this year but in June in 2025.
Hotels were the only major accommodation category to record growth during the month, with overnight stays increasing by 4 percent. Holiday-home stays fell by 8 percent, while campsites recorded a 6 percent decline.
The geographical picture was also uneven. Region Hovedstaden, which includes Copenhagen, was the only Danish region to record an increase in overnight stays in June. Compared with June 2022, stays in the capital region were 11 percent higher, while Region Midtjylland recorded a 13 percent decline over the same period.
Holiday-home bookings point to a stronger July
The outlook for holiday homes suggests that part of June’s weakness may not continue through the summer. At the end of June, bookings for July were 8 percent higher than a year earlier.
Statistics Denmark linked much of the increase to German visitors, whose July bookings were 12 percent higher. The agency said earlier school holidays in several German federal states were likely to have shifted some demand from August into July.
Bookings for the remainder of 2026 as a whole were, however, almost unchanged from the level recorded at the same point last year.
The figures therefore show two different trends in Danish tourism. The first half of 2026 set a new record, supported primarily by stronger international demand and hotel stays, while June highlighted substantial differences between accommodation types and regions. The next monthly figures, scheduled for 10 September, will provide a clearer indication of whether the stronger July bookings translated into another increase in overnight stays.
