tourism profile denmark - sdu esbjerg

8/2/2019 Tourism Profile Denmark - SDU Esbjerg

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Tourism Profile

Danish North Sea Coast

Anja Hergesell & Bodil Stilling Blichfeldt

University of Southern Denmark

Institute of Business Communication and Information Science

Niels Bohrs Vej 9

DK-6700 Esbjerg


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Contents

List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. iiList of Figures .................................................................................................................................iii

List of Abbreviations....................................................................................................................... ivExecutive Summary........................................................................................................................11. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 52. Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 83. Trends in Tourism Demand and Supply ................................................................................ 12

3.1. Target Groups ............................................................................................................... 123.2. SWOT ...........................................................................................................................163.3. Change in Tourism Demand.......................................................................................... 193.4. Changes in Tourism Supply...........................................................................................313.5. Priority Issues for Development.....................................................................................43

4. Sustainability......................................................................................................................... 465. Communication, Cooperation and Networking....................................................................... 506. Tourism Innovation................................................................................................................567. Tourism Policy.......................................................................................................................598. Conclusions ..........................................................................................................................62Appendices................................................................................................................................... 65

Appendix 1: Denmarks regional structure until 2007 (counties) ................................................ 65Appendix 2: Denmarks regional structure since 2007 (regions) ................................................ 65

Bibliography.................................................................................................................................. 66


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List of TablesTable 1: Average Travel Budget by Type of Tourist ...................................................................... 13Table 2: Overnights by country of origin............. ........................................................................... 14

Table 3: Daily Spending of coastal tourists by nationality.............................................................. 14Table 4: Arrivals and Overnight Stays by county in 2005 .............................................................. 23Table 5: MICE - Overnight Stays, Daily Expenditure, Turnover by county 2004-2005................... 26Table 6: Coastal Tourism - Daily Spending in DKK by county 2004-2005 ..................................... 26Table 7: Star classified establishments in the NSR by type of accommodation and quality........... 35Table 8: Top ten Danish Attractions by number of visits................................................................ 37Table 9: Aktiv Danmark Themes and Types of members.............................................................. 39


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List of FiguresFigure 1: The North Sea Region .....................................................................................................5Figure 2: Segments in Coastal Tourism: Number and Share of Overnight Stays........................... 12

Figure 3: Turnover in the Danish NSR by Type of Tourism ........................................................... 15Figure 4: Development of Overnights in the counties of the NSR 2000-2006................................ 19Figure 5: Development of Overnights in the Danish NSR by nationality 2000-2006 ...................... 20Figure 6: Number of Overnight Stays by Germans in the counties of the NSR 2000-2006............ 21Figure 7: Number of Overnight Stays by Type of Accommodation in the NSR 2000-2006 ............ 22Figure 8: Number of hotels and holiday resorts in the counties of the Danish NSR 2000-2006 ..... 32Figure 9: Number of beds in hotels and holiday resorts in the counties of the Danish NSR 2000-

2006.............................................................................................................................................. 32Figure 10: Occupancy rate of hotels and holiday resorts in the counties of the Danish NSR 2000-

2006.............................................................................................................................................. 33Figure 11: Development of holiday house supply and demand by weeks 2004-2007.................... 34Figure 12: Development of price index by commodity group 2000-2007 ....................................... 37Figure 13: Tourist information quality logos................................................................................... 39


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List of AbbreviationsEU European Union

DKK Danish Kroner

DMO Destination Marketing Organization

i.a. inter alia

NS North Sea

NSC North Sea Coast

NSR North Sea Region

R&D Research and Development

TLA Tourism Learning Area

UNWTO UN World Tourism Organization

WOM Word of MouthWS Wadden Sea


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Executive SummaryThe present report was prepared as part of the Interreg project Developing Sustainable Tourism in

the North Sea Region Applying the Tourism Learning Area Concept (ToLearn) and focuses onthe current situation and future challenges of coastal tourism in the Danish NSR. The findings are

based on statistical data, a number of analyses on Danish tourism and twelve semi-structured

interviews with experts on tourism in the region. Aims of the research were:

- the investigation of demand and supply characteristics,

- the assessment of the regions sustainability,

- the examination of communication, cooperation and learning structures,

- the review of innovative projects and evaluation of the regions innovativeness, and

- the identification of actors shaping tourism related policies and development strategies.

Overall, tourism demand and supply in the Danish NSR has hardly changed in the last five years.

However, while e.g. the number of overnight stays has stayed relatively stable, several significant

changes in the composition of tourism demand were noted. On the one hand, the segments empty

nesters and seniors travelling without children have become more significant as a result of

demographic changes in the major source markets. On the other hand, the domestic demand grew

in importance while the German market, especially due to the continuous shortening of holiday

stays, has declined in terms of overnights but has slightly recovered in the geographically closer

southern part of Jutland. Despite the latter observations, the Germans continue to account for most

of all overnights and remain the dominant segment in the southern parts of the peninsula, while the

domestic demand prevails in the north. Despite the above described changes and the differences

among origin markets regarding their preferred type of accommodation, the most used types have

continued to be on the one hand holiday houses, predominantly used by Germans but increasingly

also popular among Danes, and on the other hand, camping, traditionally very popular among

Danes. These prevailing types of accommodation target independent car travellers and allow for

cost-saving self catering. In contrast to the coastal tourists, the MICE segment has demonstrated

much higher daily expenditure and moderate growth thus being identified as a target group in theregion despite its limited size. The pursuit of the MICE market and the trend of frequent shorter

stays are viewed as an opportunity for extension of the season, as tourism in the Danish NSR has

been concentrated around the summer months. The tourists appreciation of the nature in the

region and the awareness of its quality as well as the consumption of culture in various forms are

planned to form the basis for the development of off-season products. Changes in the information


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and booking behaviour such as the rising importance of the internet and differences among the

segments related to the timing of destination choice have to receive further consideration.

Tourism supply is at a consolidated stage of development. The overall number of accommodations

and beds has varied little in the last 5 years despite the dynamics in the industry in terms of SME

start ups and close downs. A few major construction projects shape the supply and intensify the

competition, as the new centres offer state of the art accommodation and entertainment facilities.

The supply of all types of accommodation is seasonal, i.e. many businesses close in the off-

season, a situation which inhibits the extension of the season. The private attraction sector is also

characterized by increasing competition as new attractions enter the market and existing

attractions regularly update their offer. However, they play a secondary role as attractions based

on the natural and cultural assets of the region prevail. Due to the price level in Denmark and the

fierce competition for tourists, quality schemes are widespread. Next to the popular starqualification, there are various systems based on the type of business, themes and environmental

friendliness. As these quality schemes predominantly apply technical criteria, they are of limited

use in the assessment of supply quality. The tourism labour force plays a crucial role in the delivery

of satisfying tourist experiences. The high turnover, large share of insufficiently skilled staff and

shortage in tourism employees lessen the quality provided; these issues are thus identified as

challenges to tourism development.

An assessment of tourisms sustainability in the Danish NSR turned out to be very difficult due to

the limited suitability of the applied method. The experts evaluations differ as they apply a wide

range of potential indicators to measure a criterions degree of importance and interpret the very

vague criteria differently. This, on the one hand, prevents generalization and, on the other hand,

illustrates the complexity of the concept and pursuit of sustainability. Only one best practice project

on sustainable tourism could be identified thus indicating that sustainability is not explicitly on most

of the experts agenda. However, this does not mean that this concept is not important. Instead,

the interviews indicate that while sustainability is not an issue in a Danish context to the same

extent as in other countries, its principles have been integrated in tourism development.

There are numerous networks shaping tourism development in the Danish NSR. Next to

permanent networks such as business associations and marketing alliances, project based

cooperation shapes tourism development. While projects have always been an important

component of development in Denmark, changes in the public funding system encourage project

based work. Important actors shaping regional tourism are municipalities and the national

government as they decide on legislation and funding, local and regional DMOs as they link

stakeholders and coordinate activities on the various levels, and businesses and their associations


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as they co-fund and implement activities to improve tourism in the Danish NSR. While the

importance of cooperation and networks is acknowledged by the tourism actors, caution prevails

as to when the benefits of cooperation outweigh the costs of sharing expertise with competitors.

Competence development is a priority issue in all strategy papers. Formal settings for learning are

primarily offered by public actors such as the Ministry of Education and higher educational

institutions as well as private business associations. In addition, components of learning are

frequently incorporated in projects on tourism development. They focus predominantly on issues

related to business operation, thus corresponding to the needs identified by the experts. However,

various factors, which are frequently demand related, inhibit the use of the educational offer.

Examples in this regard are limited human resources preventing the participation in courses and

the unawareness of training needs by both staff and management.

Several innovation projects in the Danish NSR were identified, of which most focus on productimprovement or development. While their innovative character is indicated by the focus on the

inclusion of new ideas and the intention to improve tourism supply and thus the competitive

position of the region, the success of these projects in terms of their commercial value is fairly

unknown. A number of actors are commonly associated with innovativeness such as R&D

departments and DMOs. As those actors cannot work in isolation, tourism staff plays a major role

in the generation of new ideas and the implementation of innovative concepts. However, their

attitude towards change may differ: some individuals actively encourage innovative behaviour

while others resist change until inevitable. Thus, investments into human resources are needed in

addition to financial resources for funding the development and implementation of new ideas.

The tourism policy is shaped by a number of public actors on various levels. The national

government with its ministries and the municipalities are the most powerful governing bodies, while

the influence of the newly created regional governments is still unclear. The tourist boards are the

traditional coordinators of tourism development by guiding strategic planning and arranging tourism

projects that relate to the set policy priorities. The tourism strategies developed on the various

levels influence the public investment behaviour and the choice of activities undertaken by the

DMOs. However, the lack of conformity among the strategies has lessened their effects and led to

the call for more cooperation between the levels. In addition, the regional tourism development is

affected by the overlap of regional and destination boundaries and the clash of responsibilities, as

the newly created regional governments take over tasks that were previously in the hands of the

regional DMOs. The associated uncertainties about the actors roles and authorities may inhibit the

effectiveness of regional tourism policy.


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1. Introduction

Located in Northern Europe the North Sea (NS) is bordered on three sides by land, namely

Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. Itconnects with the Atlantic through the Strait of Dover and the English Channel in the south and the

Norwegian Sea in the north, and to the Baltic Sea through the Skagerrak and Kattegat (see Figure

1). In accordance with this geographic demarcation, the Danish NSR tourism profile focuses on the

west coast of the Jutland peninsula.

Figure 1: The North Sea Region

Source: Graphic Maps

The NS is economically important as a resource for oil, gas and wind energy production, a major

transportation route and an important fishing area. Furthermore, many of its coastal areas incountries like the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark are popular recreational areas that have

evolved into mature mass tourism destinations whereas other more remote areas such as Scotland

and Norway are at an early stage in the tourism cycle of evolution (Butler 1997). The NSR is

Denmarks biggest contributor to coastal tourism, the most significant type of tourism in the

country. This segment accounts for almost 36 million overnight stays and generates a turnover of


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15 billion DKK (VisitDenmark 2007a; Gram 2005). Furthermore, tourism is considered an attractive

tool for the development of those peripheral coastal areas that have few economic alternatives.

Tourism in the coastal destinations is on the one hand, shaped by changes in the tourism system

and on the other hand, driven by political, economical, environmental, socio-cultural and technical

trends. Environmental concerns may result from climate change accompanied by the rise of sea

level, increase in rainfall, storm surge and change in vegetation or the pollution through energy

production, industrial activity, traffic and tourism. Socio-cultural and economic changes such as the

ageing of the population and economic up- and downturns shape travel expectations, demand and

behaviour. In addition, political changes like the removal of border controls by the Schengen

agreement and the introduction of the Euro as final stage of the Economic and Monetary Union

affect travel behaviour making e.g. inexpensive EU coastal destinations more attractive.

Advancements in science and technology, and increasingly fierce global competition betweendestinations pose further threats but simultaneously, they also present opportunities for sustainable

tourism development in the region.

Addressing the challenges faced by the NS coastal destinations, the two-year Interreg project

entitled Developing Sustainable Tourism in the North Sea Region Applying the Tourism Learning

Area Concept (ToLearn) was conceptualized. Led by the Christian-Albrechts-Universitt Kiel,

Germany; the project consortium consists of: Stavanger University, Norway, CHN University, the

Netherlands, University of Gent, Belgium and the University of Southern Denmark, Denmark. As

part of the Interreg North Sea Programme the project incorporates the principles of the Interreg

programme, namely spatial development, cross-sectorality, transnationality and sustainability, and

the European Regional Development Fundco-finances the undertaking.

The applied TLA concept, developed on behalf of the European Commission (European

Commission 2006), recognizes the importance and ephemerality of specified knowledge and the

need for lifelong learning in a variety of formal and informal settings as the basis for improving

human potentials and thus competitive positioning. In accordance, a key component of the TLA

approach is to establish information and cooperation networks between stakeholders from relevant

sectors as a suitable framework for encouraging learning and thus facilitating sustainable tourism

development. Moreover, partnerships among research and educational institutions for the

identification and analysis of problems as well as the dissemination of findings are strongly

encouraged.


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The ToLearn project is considered the start up for the development and implementation of a

tourism learning area in the NSR context. It thus aims at stimulating cooperation and mutual

learning among coastal destinations in the NSR. Within this scope,

- destinations facing comparable conditions and development challenges are identified and

matched;

- best practice examples and their success factors are identified and highlighted;

- information and communication structures are set up;

- recommendations for future implementation of the TLA concept are developed;

- projects incorporating the recommendations are implemented under the guidance of the

partner institutions.

The present report is an outcome of the project described above. The analysis explores the current

situation and future challenges of coastal tourism in the Danish NSR and thus forms the basis for a

comparative transnational analysis of the regions along the NSC and the identification of common

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the development of sustainable tourism.

In order to provide for meaningful comparisons in the NS context a shared, multi-disciplinary

methodology is applied. A number of secondary sources, namely statistical data and analyses by

regional DMOs and the national tourist board VisitDenmark, are considered within the study. They

are supplemented by semi-structured interviews with twelve tourism experts using a standardized

interview guide. Ongoing literature reviews inform the research process and proved particularlyhelpful for formulating the framework and issues to guide the expert interviews. The selection of

the expert interviewees is based on set criteria, namely the expertise in tourism, nature protection,

municipal development and destination management. The choice of experts thus reflects the type

of actors important in the region.

In order to facilitate the transnational comparison the report adopts the order of questions from the

expert interviews. Hence it focuses on:

1. coastal tourism demand and supply characteristics,

2. the importance of sustainability issues in the region,

3. communication, cooperation and institutionalized learning structures,

4. innovations in and innovativeness of the region,

5. tourism related policies and development strategies.


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2. MethodologyThe tourism profile for the Danish North Sea Coast is derived from:

- secondary data published by various public and private entities and- a series of in-depth interviews with key informants.

Several types of secondary data, namely statistics, surveys, analyses, news articles and strategy

papers are taken into consideration. Most of the statistical data mentioned in the report is based on

the recordings of the national organization, Danmarks Statistik. The data provides limited

information on tourism as few tourism related indicators are recorded continuously and the data

collection is restricted to:

- Danish holiday houses agencies with at least 25 houses available for rental,

- Campsites with 75 pitches or more,

- Hotels and similar establishments with at least 40 beds (Statistikbanken).

Furthermore, the statistics are prepared in correspondence to administrative borders (regional

and/or national level). As administrative and destination borders do not match and the Danish NSR

cannot be clearly demarcated, it is not possible to generate statistics specifically for the Danish

NSR. Instead, the hereafter reported statistics on the NSR include data from all counties/regions

with access to the Danish NS, namely Snderjyllands Amt, Ribe Amt, Ringkbing Amt, Viborg Amt

and Nordjylland Amt (see Appendix 1) and Syddanmark, Midtjylland and Nordjylland (see

Appendix 2) respectively.

In addition to the statistics by Danmarks Statistik, a number of reports prepared by public

organizations like the national tourist board VisitDenmarkand the regional DMOs, or by private

associations such as Horestawere reviewed. The information available on the entities web pages

ranges from short informative articles and project summaries to lengthy quantitative and qualitative

analyses. While the former give a fast overview on tourism related issues the latter offer deeper

insights into the given topic. Thus, the majority of the reviewed reports are of the latter described

nature. While they provide a richness of easily accessible information, none of the analyses

focuses on the Danish NSR. Furthermore, most of them are project related and thus do not have

the same perspective on issues as adopted in the present report. Nevertheless, the analyses are

helpful in sketching tourism development in the Danish NSR and identifying issues in need of

further exploration.


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The review of secondary data is supplemented by a series of in-depth interviews. The primary

reason for conducting expert interviews is the severe differences that characterise the pool of key

players in tourism at the Danish NSC. Especially such differences relate to the fact that the area is

comprised of a series of sub areas, all of whom have different approaches to tourism and most ofwhom have different roles to play in relation to tourism. For example, the southern region has

predominantly German visitors whereas the northern region has many Norwegian guests. As

another example, the southern region has many visitors who come to experience the Wadden Sea

area, whereas a main motivation for visiting the middle and northern coastal areas is to experience

the coastal line and the sea. Due to such variations, it seems much more fruitful to conduct a

series of in-depth interviews, during the course of which informants can provide rich and thick data

based on their unique insights, than to conduct, for example, focus group interviews, the main

advantage of which is the interaction between informants and the insights provided by their

dialogues.

Obviously, in order to generate a tourism profile for the Danish NSC on the basis of a series of in-

depth interviews one has to be extremely careful in regard to selection of informants. Thus, it is

crucial that the series of interviews actually adequately represents the different actors that are

important in the particular area (in this case the Danish NSR). In order to assure that the series of

interviews enables the researchers to generate a reliable tourism profile, the key informants are

chosen on the basis of a series of criteria that ensure that data is obtained from all relevant actors.

One key criterion relates to geography as the series of interviews include actors across the entire

coastal area. Furthermore, a key criterion is that interviews should cover both governmental andregional agencies involved in tourism in the area and private enterprises (including accommodation

and attractions). A third criterion relates to the kind of product that key actors work with. Thus, a

deliberate choice was made to include informants with special interests in heritage tourism,

wellness, golf, and nature protection. Finally, all informants fulfil the more generic criteria that apply

to all qualitative interviews, i.e. they have valuable knowledge and they are both willing and able to

share this knowledge with the researcher.

In total, the researchers conducted twelve interviews with a series of key informants, all of whom

contributed with valuable insights on tourism in the Danish NSR. The first interview was done withKlaus Melbye, who is the director of the Wadden Sea Centre in Vester Vedsted, Ribe. The primary

reason why Mr. Melbye was interviewed is that he has unique knowledge on tourism at the

Wadden Sea and is actively involved in the regions nature protection initiative. The second

interview was conducted with Peter Saabye, a recognized tourism consultant and managing

partner at Saabye, Stendrup & Partners in Odense. He has been engaged in the development of


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various tourism development strategies and concepts, quantitative and qualitative tourism analyses

and assessments, the fundraising and initiation of tourism projects, the establishment of tourism

networks and cooperation in tourism, and the delivery of tourism courses. The third interviewee

was Bente Bramming, who owns and runs a cultural centre called Taarnborgin Ribe. Furthermore,Ms. Bramming is a part-time PhD student at the University of Southern Denmark studying culture

and heritage tourism and participates in several regional and national tourism project networks.

The fourth interview was conducted with Bodil Glistrup, the Director of Tourism and Development

in Rm-Tnder. Spending her life on in the region, she has much experience in local and regional

tourism development and worked previously as local politician, thus being familiar with the

perspective of various actors. The fifth interviewee was Kristina Lehmann, Director of Wellness at

the newly constructed holiday centre Rm Golf & Wellness and alumni of the University of

Southern Denmarks tourism programme. Further interviews were conducted with employees of

the national Hotel- and Restaurant association Horesta, who has not only hotels as its members

but also the associations of youth hostels and Danish attractions. One of the interviewees was

Jonas Kjr, economic consultant and thus engaged in various surveys, analyses and consultancy

work for the association. Furthermore, the project coordinator Tina Christensen was interviewed as

she is involved in quality schemes coordinated by Horestasuch as the star qualification and the

environmental accreditation Green Key. Moreover, the director of the association, Lone Njor Hulth,

was questioned. She is engaged in the lobbying work for tourism and a number of development

networks. The ninth interview was held with Lars Enevold Pedersen, who is the Director of

VisitNordjyllandand thus in charge for coordinating regional tourism. The tenth interviewee wasHenning Mern, the Director of Tourism at Esbjerg Kommune. While he was relatively new to the

job at the time of the interview, he had undertaken much research on tourism in the municipality

and was thus very aware of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Furthermore, he

had previously worked at one of the big Danish attractions Danfoss Universe. The eleventh

interview was conducted with Anni Hornum, Director of Turistgruppen Vestjylland and thus in

charge of coordinating tourism development along most of the Danish NSC. Ms. Hornum has much

experience in regional but also national tourism development as she had worked for VisitDenmark

previously. The last interviewee for the tourism profile was Jane Hansen, Director of Development

at Fyntour. While Fyn is not located at the Danish NSC, it is part of the newly created region

Syddanmarkand thus influences tourism development in the Danish NSR. Ms. Hansen is also

engaged in various project networks and e.g. is the coordinator of the EDDA Project, a national

initiative for competence development in the attractions sector.


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All interviews were conducted by the researcher, who was most heavily engaged in, and

knowledgeable on, the research project. Thus, a deliberate choice was made to let one person

conduct all interviews in order both to ensure that the interview guide was covered during all

interviews and to enable learning effects to evolve across the series of interviews. The majority ofthe interviews were conducted at the informants workplace and enabled the researcher to also

make a series of observations at the locations, which provided valuable information in relation to

the private tourism producers that were included in the study. The interviews were guided by a

standardized interview guide, which aimed at facilitating comparison across interviews and

ultimately across regions and countries. The questions were cooperatively developed by the

project partners and informed by ongoing literature reviewsand regular feedback by the partners.

The interviewees were notified about the topics in advance. All but one interview were conducted

in English, thus allowing for the direct use of the developed interview guide and preventing

translation related alterations in the questions perspective and content. It must be noted that this

procedure was possible due to the excellent English skills of the experts. The interviews lasted

between 1 and 2 hours and all were recorded. Immediately after an interview was conducted,

the researcher who did the interviews made a first transcription of the interviews. Afterwards,

another researcher listened through the interviews and checked the transcripts. At this point in

time, the researchers discussed the interview in question and conducted first order analysis of that

interview. This process ensured that the analysis relating to individual questions did not only hinge

on the interviewers initial perceptions. Furthermore, a critical element of these discussions was to

ensure that future interviews drew on knowledge obtained during previous interviews. Hence,although the interview guide was maintained across all interviews to secure comparability, the

researcher got feedback in relation to the parts of the interview guide that proved less optimal. For

example, during interviews it was pointed out that some of the issues focusing on sustainability

may be more relevant in other settings than the Danish context. This proved to be the case e.g. in

relation to the opportunities of tourism for the poor, as poverty is not an issue in Denmark to the

same extent as it is in some developing countries. As more interviews were conducted, the

researchers repeated the analysis of individual interviews as described above and furthermore,

they continuously engaged in analysis across interviews in order to ensure that knowledge was

accumulated during the interviewing process. Hence, the tourism profile of the Danish NSR that is

presented in this report draws upon the results of a multidisciplinary and multiple step analysis.


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18,491,09053%

13,804,19240%

2,393,4817%

Adults under 40 withoutchildren

Adults over 40 withoutchildren

Families

3. Trends in Tourism Demand and Supply

3.1. Target Groups

The target groups in the Danish NSR are segmented according to the criteria:- stage in lifecycle/ party composition,

- motives/interests and

- nationality.

In terms of stage in lifecycle/party composition the two main target groups for Danish coastal

tourism and thus also for tourism at the Danish NSC are families with children and adults over 40 1

travelling without children (see Figure 2). While the former is the long-established prime segment

of the region, the latter is becoming increasingly important. Empty nesters and seniors are

considered the target group with the highest growth potential for Denmarks coastal tourism (Gram

2005). All experts rate the two target groups as of equal importance economically these days, as

the segment adults 40+ travelling without children has grown significantly in terms of volume.

Furthermore, on average, this segment spends more than families travelling with dependent

children. Anni Hornum stresses however, that the future importance of the segments depends

partly upon tourism investments in the region. The construction of major holiday centres such as

Seawestand Lalandia, which target families with dependent children, affects the forms of tourism

in the region. Thus, the importance of the traditional segment, in future, depends heavily on the

state of holiday centres, attractions, etc. in the area compared to those of competitors.

Figure 2: Segments in Coastal Tourism: Number and Share of Overnight Stays

Source: VisitDenmark 2007a, 4

The importance of the two main target groups to the NSR is reflected by the types of products thathave been launched recently and the way they are marketed. Businesses take e.g. two sets of

distinctive catalogue pictures, and selected tourism actors in West Jutland collaboratively offer the

1 The age referred to by the informants and applied in analyses varies between 40and 45. In other caseslifestyle segmentation is adopted distinguishing empty nesters and seniors.


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products Treffpunkt and TimeOut, the former targeting kids and the latter intended for adults

without children (see chapter 6).

Target groups in the Danish NSR are furthermore classified by tourists motives and interests. An

increasing number of visitors choose to engage in a particular activity during their vacation such as

cycling, fishing, bird watching, golfing or wellness. This special interest segment is considered

economically very important by all experts. A qualitative survey among tourists to coastal areas in

Denmark confirms this view reasoning that the target group has a bigger travel budget available

(see Table 1) and accounts for a large share of the overnight stays and revenue (see VisitDenmark

2006c).

Table 1: Average Travel Budget by Type of Tourist

Type of TouristTravel Budget

DKK per person

Travel Budget

approx. Euro2

per person

Cycling 6,326 850

Golf 6,534 878

Wellness 6,709 902

Coastal tourist on average 5,252 706

Source: Derived from VisitDenmark 2006c

The importance of the special interest segment is furthermore highlighted in regional tourism

strategies, e.g. the one for the region Syddanmark, and reflected in product developments such as

the nationwide initiative Aktiv Danmark. This is a network in which quality criteria, products and

marketing plans on five themes, namely cycling, fishing, golf, wellness and gastronomy are

developed in collaboration with more than 350 members (see Aktiv Danmark).

The target groups are also categorized by nationality. The most important segment in this respect

is the German market with about 47%3 of all overnight stays along the Danish NSC4. In 2006, the

Germans were the predominant nationality in all counties along the NSC apart from Viborg and

North Jutland, where the otherwise second largest target group, the Danish visitors, prevailed (see

Table 2). All experts agree that the Danish NSR is primarily a destination for domestic tourists and

for tourists from the nearby markets identifying next to the Germans the Norwegians, Swedes and

Dutch as further target groups. The importance of each nationality varies along the Danish NSC

2 Derived from www.oanda.com, August 21, 20073 Derived from VisitDenmark, Danmarks Statistik for 20064 The statistics on the Danish NSC are the compilation of the county statistics from Snderjylland, Ribe,Ringkbing, Viborg and Nordjylland.


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depending on the distance to the place of residence; Norway and Sweden thus play a more

significant role in North Jutlands tourism while the Netherlands is an important target group in

South Jutland.

Table 2: Overnights by country of origin

SnderjyllandsAmt

Ribe Amt RingkbingAmt

ViborgAmt

NordjyllandsAmt

NSR (Total)

Overnights(Total)

3,691,073 5,118,035 4,664,353 1,687,793 6,711,088 21,872,342

Denmark 1,604,108 1,327,745 1,260,637 1,014,319 3,614,242 8,821,051

Germany 1,772,387 3,313,230 3,051,776 474,082 1,573,764 10,185,239

Norway 81,342 121,688 111,155 80,913 792,591 1,187,689

Sweden 49,326 101,188 73,316 33,237 484,434 741,501

Netherlands 130,849 128,110 93,660 48,048 89,992 490,659

Source: Derived from Overnatningstal Danmark

While there is a huge difference in the number of overnight stays between German and Danish

tourists on the one side and the other target groups on the other side, the average amount each

segment spends per day needs to be considered as well (see Table 3). Coastal tourists from

Norway and Sweden spent the most per day, which is attributable to the price index in the tourists

home country. As Lars Enevold Pedersen put it: They think Denmark is still cheap; you get great

value for your money here compared to Norway.

Table 3: Daily Spending of coastal tourists by nationality

Nationality Daily Spendingin DKK

Daily Spendingapprox. in Euro5

Denmark 446 60

Germany 360 48

Norway 589 79

Sweden 586 79

Netherlands 382 51

Source: VisitDenmark 2007a

5 Derived from www.oanda.com, August 21, 2007


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0500

1000150020002500300035004000

Snd

erjyllan

dsAmt

Ribe

Am

t

Ringk

bingAm

t

Vibo

rgAmt

Nordjylla

ndsAm

tTurnoverinmio.DanishKrone

MICE

City Break

Coastal Tourism

Overall, coastal tourism is the economically predominant type of tourism in the Danish NSR (see

Figure 3). City breaks are limited to Aalborg in North Jutland. MICE tourism6 is also concentrated in

the bigger towns thus playing a secondary role in the region overall.

Figure 3: Turnover in the Danish NSR7 by Type of Tourism

Source: Derived from VisitDenmark 2007a

Although of little direct economic importance are school classes from Denmark and the nearby

markets, which have been identified as a target group in the municipality of Esbjerg8. Klaus Melbye

and Henning Mern stressed that this segment is significant in terms of:

- generating future tourism through revisits and positive WOM,

- creating regional, national and transnational identity.

The segment is thus viewed as an economic and socio-cultural investment. Understanding the

value of tourism for identity formation the Esbjerg municipality e.g. has offered free entry to

museums in the municipality for school classes throughout the year 2007.

The segmentation criteria considered above are applied throughout Denmark. However, small

variations exist in the definition of the groups in regard to age. While statistics on overnight stays

have to be provided by legally defined types of accommodation continuously visitor surveys are not

conducted so frequently. Some destinations make visitor surveys every other year but those are

according to Henning Mern very immature, merely proving e.g. that tourists staying longer in thedestination spend less per day. However, major visitor analyses on the national and regional levels

have been undertaken or are underway such as the EU supported one year visitor survey in

6 Statistic excludes individual business tourism.7 Compilation of Turnover in the counties of Snderjylland, Ribe, Ringkbing, Viborg and Nordjylland8 The new municipality of Esbjerg comprises the towns of Esbjerg, Bramming and Ribe and villages nearby.


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Tnder municipality. They have been crucial to enhance the view on tourism in the NSR as the

overnight statistics are very limited in their explanatory power(see chapter 2).

In conclusion, the most economically significant target groups are families with dependent children

and couples over 40 engaging in coastal tourism. Prime source markets are Germany and

Denmark.

3.2. SWOT

According to the tourism experts interviewed a major asset for the regions tourism development is

the North Sea and coastline as the prime pull factors. Linked to nature is the destinations image of

providing relaxation, peace and quietness. Of advantage to the regions international appeal is also

Denmarks overall image as cosy, hyggeligand very professional internationally-minded holiday

house agents offering high quality accommodation (Hornum). Visitor surveys and investigations

on prospective coastal tourists to Denmark indicate that indeed elements such as

nature/landscape/beach, space, relaxation, comfort, hospitality, informality and activity prevail as

motives for deciding on coastal holidays in Denmark. The high level of repeat visitors indicates that

the image associated with holidays in the Danish NSR coincides with the tourist experiences

offered by the region.

Additionally, shopping, entertainment, culture and regional foods are of varying interest to the

target groups. (Gram 2005; VisitDenmark 2007b; 2005b) The region does offer a range of tourism

products intended to satisfy those wishes such as holiday centres with huge entertainment

complexes, historic towns like Ribeand Ringkbing and packaged tours to experience regional

food culture like Snderjydsk madglde. While the experts assess the supplementary tourism

offers as good, they perceive gaps in marketing them. Henning Mern stressed that while the

suppliers have much professional knowledge of their products and treat their customers with

kindness, they miss the sales attitude. [T]hey tell what they have instead of what customers

should get out of it and they are not trying to sell an extra day or an extra attraction if somebody

is coming and asking. Competence development initiatives target those gaps but attendance by

SME representatives is scarce due to the nature of the sector. Many of the SMEs are family-runbusinesses, the owners of which heavily engage in daily tasks and work long hours. As a result,

these SMEs are not able to devote much time and resources to attend e.g. seminars or meetings

during which new initiatives and products are discussed and developed. Thus, the SMEs scarce

attendance probably relates more to a lack of time than to a lack of interest.


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A further weakness in regards to customer service is the restricted opening hours both within the

week and throughout the year. Museums cannot be visited on Mondays; attractions and shops are

closed outside of the peak season. The temporary closure of tourist demanded facilities for parts of

the year is an inhibitor in the regions efforts to extend the season. On the one hand, tourisminfrastructure is needed to create satisfying tourist experiences; on the other hand, tourists are

needed in order that shops and attractions consider opening economically worthwhile.

An advantage for tourism development in the Danish NSR is its geographical proximity to major

tourist source markets; 1/3 of the worlds tourists live within 3 hours of flying time (Mller 2007).

However, the perceived distance to the Danish NSR may vary greatly depending on the locations

accessibility. Several ferry companies such as Stena Line connect North Jutland to its source

markets in Sweden and Norway and DFDS Seaways serves the route Esbjerg-Harwich (UK).

Various regional ferry routes connect the NS islands with each other and the mainland. Twointernational airports are located in the region: Billund airport, Esbjerg airport and Aalborg airport.

All are served by national carriers as well as charter airlines and no-frill airlines like Ryanair and

Sterling offering extremely cheap flights to destination in the UK, Norway, Iceland, France, Spain

and Italy. Jutlands most important car routes are the north-south motorway E45 connecting the

peninsula to Germany and the west-east motorway E20 connecting Jutland to the rest of Denmark.

Despite the harbours, airports and motorways accessibility is viewed as a weakness by the

experts. Especially the following aspects of accessibility are emphasized as they may contribute to

the undesirability of the region for short breaks:

- the motorway routes do not directly serve the holiday destinations;

- the airports business accounts primarily for outbound tourism;

- public transportation to the coastal destination is poorly developed.

Further weaknesses relate to the tourism products offered in the region. The mass tourism

products are 20-30 years old and have not been adapted to changes in tourism demand, e.g. they

have not been tailored for short breaks (Mller 2007; Pedersen). The high price level in

international comparison, the deficiency in investments into tourism and the insufficient statistics

further decrease the regions competitiveness. Moreover, the tourism products are weather andseason dependent and there are no hallmark attractions that could attract international tourists

irrespective of the climate. Finally, the huge significance of the non-chargeable product nature as a

pull factor results in marketing problems as tourism entities are not inclined to pay for the

promotion of products that do not directly result in business revenue.


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Technological advances such as mobile tourist information systems and second life on the internet

are considered as opportunities that may attract tourists to the region, as well as enhance,

individualize and extend the tourist experience by improving the communication before, during and

after the visit.

The demographic change in Western Europe, especially in the prime source market Germany, is

both associated with threats and opportunities. On the one hand, the traditional segment of families

with dependent children is decreasing and the old generation of visitors is slowly dieing. Thus, new

potential target groups have to be developed, a task which requires investments in product

development and marketing. On the other hand, the volume of empty nesters and seniors is

increasing as peoples life expectancy increases. Demanding high quality experiences and having

a higher disposable income these segments increasingly seek active holidays combined with

comfort. Thus, the image of the Danish NSR described above offers great potential for attractingthese types of tourists to the peninsula. Furthermore, as the 40+ segment generally takes more

vacations per year and as many of them have visited Denmark in the past, it may prove easier for

the peninsula to compete for one of these peoples vacations than it was in the past when several

destinations competed to become the destination visited during peoples annual holiday.

The current economic upturn is also viewed in opposing lights. On the one hand, the improved

economic situation in Germany provides hope for an increasing share of German tourists as more

Germans are expected to go on vacation and Denmark is expected to be considered more

affordable and thus more attractive. On the other hand, the favourable economic situation in

Denmark affects the price level and the provision of qualified staff for tourism. Tourism businesses

all over Denmark are increasingly pressured by a lack of staff and find themselves in fierce

competition both with each other and other industries. Tourism is not considered a high profile

industry and offers unfavourable working conditions in terms of hours, career opportunities, etc.

Therefore, few people decide to work in the industry for a longer period and trained staff

increasingly prefers untrained work in other industries that offer regular working hours and higher

pay.

A further concern to the experts is the rising competition, on the one hand, with lower-priced

destinations in the North and Baltic Sea regions and on the other hand, with long haul destinations

that are becoming increasingly affordable due to the declining costs of flying.

Next to international developments, changes in the Danish administrative structure are viewed

contradictory. On January 1, 2007 a regional administrative level was introduced. It is among other

things responsible for developing regional tourism strategies. While in North Jutland the


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0

5000000

10000000

15000000

20000000

25000000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

NumberofOvernig

htStays

Snderjyllands Amt

Ribe AmtRingkbing Amt

Viborg Amt

Nordjyllands Amt

NSR

administrative borders correspond to the ones of the regional DMO, this is not the case in the other

parts of the Danish NSR. The south of Denmark e.g. is administratively linked to the neighbouring

island of Fyn while the destinations are traditionally disconnected targeting distinct segments and

offering different tourism products. Related to the introduction of this new structure is changedtourism funding flows and power relations, whose effects on tourism development in the NSR

cannot be estimated yet.

In the following chapters past and expected changes in tourism demand and supply as well as

management issues of future importance will be explored in order to improve the understanding of

the regions strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

3.3. Change in Tourism Demand

Tourism in the Danish NSR is matured as indicated in Figure 4. Overnight stays have changed little

in the period 2000-2006. The volume of bed nights varied between 20.7 million in 2005 and 22.3

million in 2003. The overall number of bed nights is not expected to increase significantly in the

near future due to the trend of taking shorter holidays, problems of accessibility and capacity

limitations during peak season.

Figure 4: Development of Overnights in the counties of the NSR 2000-2006


While the overall number of bed nights has stagnated, the overnights by source market havedeveloped differently within the NSR (see Figure 5). Especially, the number of bed nights by Danes

(i.e. domestic tourism) has increased by 1.7 million in the period 2000-2006, hence implying a

decrease in inbound tourism. Furthermore, the decrease in tourists of other nationalities is

especially attributable to a decrease in the number of German visitors, a trend of which Danish

tourism agents are very well aware and do their best to change.


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0

2000000

4000000

6000000

8000000

10000000

12000000

14000000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

NumberofOvernight

Stays

DenmarkGermany

Norway

Sweden

Netherlands

Figure 5: Development of Overnights in the Danish NSR9

by nationality 2000-2006


The experts agree on the continuing significance of the home market throughout the whole region

especially as the statistics do not account for the one day excursionists and the tourists staying

with friends and family or spending the nights in privately owned or let holiday houses. Hence,

domestic tourism may be even more important than indicated by Figure 5, as a series of domestic

stays are not included in the official statistics. The experts stress however, that domestic demand

is highly dependent on weather conditions thus suggesting that domestic tourism varies

considerably as many Danes make last minute decisions e.g. on where to spend the summer

holidays. Furthermore, little effort is made to analyse the domestic tourist segment. Consequently,

neither analyses nor statistics exist in regard to the origin of the domestic tourists thus inhibiting the

optimal development of the home market.

The number of overnight stays by Germans has declined throughout the Danish NSR until recently

(Figure 5). The volume of bed nights is slowly starting to grow in some parts of the region, namely

in the southern counties of the Jutland peninsula (see Figure 6). Anni Hornum argues that the

regeneration of the demand is justified by the decision of the regional DMO Turistgruppen

Vestjyllandto keep working on this crucially important source market while other Danish regions

withdrew arguing Well, its hopeless to be on the German market at the moment because its

depression, the economy is down. Lars Enevold Pedersen from VisitNordjyllandreasons that the

diverging development of German overnights is attributable to a decreased length of stay. [T]he

Germans are, at least thats our assumption, () looking at the regions in the southern part of

Denmark; because if you are only staying in Denmark for a week, you are not interested in driving

9 Compiled from overnight statistics of the counties Snderjylland, Ribe, Ringkbing, Viborg and Nordjylland.


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0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

3500000

4000000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

NumberofOvernightStays

Snderjyllands Amt

Ribe Amt

Ringkbing Amt

Viborg Amt

Nordjyllands Amt

all the way to North Jutland. In accordance with this train of thought is the high volume of

overnight stays by Norwegians and Swedes in the northern part of the Danish NSR (see Table 2).

For the Norwegians North Jutland has been the most popular destination in Denmark while for the

Swedes it has decreased in importance becoming the second most visited destination in Denmark.

Figure 6: Number of Overnight Stays by Germans in the counties of the NSR 2000-2006


As Figure 4 shows the bed nights of Norwegians and Dutch have increased in the region while the

number of overnights by Swedes have decreased. The latter is explained by the experts as a result

of the EU law abolishing tax free sales within the European Union combined with rising ticket

prices thus making ferry trips between Sweden and Denmark less attractive and diverting tourist

flows southwards to the resund-Copenhagen region.

The experts realise that while the Norwegian and Dutch markets are growing, they are very limited

in size. In contrast, the German market with its 80 million inhabitants represents a huge potential.

Thus, the future of tourism in the Danish NSR is ultimately linked to the development of the

German market. The current economic upturn in this prime source market makes the experts

optimistic about regaining market share.

Like the overall volume of overnight stays the number of bed nights by type of accommodation has

not changed much (see Figure 7). In the Danish NSR holiday houses have accounted for most

overnights followed by camping. Holiday centres and hotels have played a secondary role. The

other two types of accommodation that the statistics recognizes, youth hostels and pleasure baths,

have been of little importance in the region accounting for about 300,000 and 400,000 bed nights

respectively.


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0

2000000

4000000

6000000

8000000

10000000

12000000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

Numbero

fOvernightStays

Hotel

Holiday Centre

Holiday House

Camping

Most of the German overnights have been spent in holiday houses, namely between 8 million and

9.2 million throughout the period 2000-2006. Furthermore, the share of nights in holiday houses

has steadily grown among Danish and Dutch tourists. Its use among Swedish tourists has changed

little in contrast to all other types of accommodation that have declined among Swedes due to thetotal decrease of overnights by this source market.

Figure 7: Number of Overnight Stays by Type of Accommodation in the NSR 2000-2006


While camping used to account for most of the overnights by Dutch tourists its fluctuating demand

has been outnumbered by overnights in holiday houses. However, among Danish visitors camping

still outranks all other types of accommodation accounting for 3.2 3.8 million overnights per year.Camping is of secondary importance among Germans accounting for 1.5 1.8 million overnights. It

also plays a minor role among Norwegians and Swedes.

Hotels are the most used type of accommodation among Swedes although the number of

overnights has decreased. A stagnating growth of this type of accommodation has been observed

among Norwegian visitors, for whom hotels, holiday houses and holiday centres are of almost

equal importance in terms of overnights. However, in absolute terms most of the hotel overnights

are spent by Danish tourists indicating an upward tendency.

Overnights in holiday centres have fluctuated little among the dominating segment of Danes. While

the importance of this type of accommodation has decreased among Germans and Swedes, its

share of overnights has increased among Norwegian tourists becoming the second most used type

of accommodation among this group.


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In conclusion, holiday houses have been providing most of the overnights in the Danish NSR.

Camping is of dominant significance to Danish tourists and also provides many overnights among

Dutch and German tourists. Hotels and holiday centres are of secondary importance in terms of

overnights. However, the former play an important role among Swedish and Norwegian touristswhile the latter are mainly used by Danish and Norwegian visitors. In the future, experts expect that

on the one hand, holiday houses and camping will continue to stay very significant especially for

segments looking to enjoy natures offers. On the other hand, holiday centres will significantly

increase in importance as a growing number of people lack time and choose to spend the short

holidays in establishments with all inclusive 24 hour entertainment both for grown ups and kids.

However, physical investments in the region may influence the overall overnights spent in each

type of accommodation (see chapter 3.4).

The overnight stays by segment and type of accommodation offer some insights into thedevelopment of the segments travel behaviour as discussed above but reveal relatively l ittle about

the actual volume of tourists. Unfortunately, tourist arrivals cannot be easily collected making an

assessment difficult. VisitDenmarkestimated 14.7 million visitor arrivals to the counties forming the

Danish NSR in 2005 (see Table 4). The comparison of the data shows e.g. in the case of

Snderjylland that on the one hand, relatively few overnights are recorded and on the other hand,

many arrivals are observed, thus indicating that one-day excursions and tourists staying in private

accommodation may be important characteristics of tourism to Snderjylland. However, the

volumes of arrivals specified in Table 4 have to be treated with caution as they are calculated on

the basis of overnight stays. Thus, they are inadequate to assess short term changes in touristarrivals.

Table 4: Arrivals and Overnight Stays by county in 2005

SnderjyllandsAmt


Viborg Amt NordjyllandsAmt

Estimated Visitor

Arrivals10

6,024,193 1,411,757 1,617,371 898,419 4,726,987

Number of overnightstays

11 3,367,809 4,806,924 4,311,092 1,727,006 6,485,878

Source: Derived from Overnatningstal Danmark and Jensen 2007The consultant Peter Saabye comments: many people talk about the decreasing number of

German bed nights. () [B]ut if you are a bit smart and you look in the figures, you look and count

10 The estimation includes all nationalities, one day visitors and visitors using private types ofaccommodation.11 The number includes the overnights in hotels and similar establishments with 40 beds or more and oncampsites with 75 pitches or more.


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heads instead of bed nights then you see that the number of people hasnt changed much but the

number of bed nights has decreased from approximately 14 days per person per vacation to a little

less than 10 days.

All experts agree with him that tourist stays have shortened considerably. In the early 1990s

visitors to North Jutland spent 17 nights on average while tourists to West Jutland vacationed

about 14.8 days. Today, North Jutland notes a decrease to 12 nights and West Jutland witnesses

a reduced average stay of 11.4 days in holiday houses and 3.7 days in holiday centres. The

longest stays are observed at camping sites. In addition, analyses indicate that tourists, especially

families with dependent children tend to stay for a shorter period outside of the peak season

(VisitDenmark 2007b). This may be attributable to the brevity of fall, winter and spring school

holidays and the continued choice of the summer period for the main holidays, as well as to the

trend of taking more, albeit shorter, vacations during the year a trend that is especially discussedin relation to the increased number of short break holidays that people take. The length of stay is

thus both place and time bound; it also varies by tourist segment and type of accommodation.

While the length of stay is still long in comparison to the national average, the continued shortening

of holidays asks for management responses. More tourists, including new customers, have to be

attracted in order to keep the same level of overnight stays. However, this is a difficult task as

tourism demand is seasonal and capacities are fully exploited during the peak season. On the

other hand, the reduction of length of stays may prove to also be positive due to the fact that it may

be easier to market the region towards, for example, German empty nesters, as a place to visit

during a short-break holiday than it is to make them choose the region as the destination for theirannual summer holiday.

Tourism demand to the Danish NSR has remained concentrated around the summer months

despite efforts throughout the region to extend the season. This is i.a. attributable to:

- the perceived and actual significance of the climate in forming tourist experiences.

Weather conditions are an important emotional element and limit the undertaking of some

outdoor tourist activities such as bathing to specific months.

- the importance of families with dependent children as target group. Many of the families

have at least one child at school age and are thus bound to travel during school holidays.

The latter aspect indicates that school holiday schedules in the various source markets have a

direct effect on the length of the peak season each year. The interviewed experts explain that the

season is longer when the northern states of Germany have their holidays either very early or very

late while holidays at the same time as the Danish pupils, in July, are of disadvantage. (Hornum)


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Although the majority of the tourists come in the months of July and August, increased demand

during the off-season has been recorded according to all experts. Turistgruppen Vestjyllandhas

noted an enormously increased demand in September and the first three weeks of October, the

time of the German autumn holidays, while having difficulties in attracting the target groups at thebeginning of the new holiday period in the months of May and early June. The North Jutland

regional DMO has observed a rising tourism demand during Christmas, New Year and spring time.

However, the extension of the season is difficult to monitor due to limitations in the collection and

analysis of information. Next to the lack of data on many tourism indicators such as tourist arrivals

weaknesses in the preparation of the overnight statistics on the most important types of

accommodation prevail. Holiday house statistics are published retrospectively on an annual basis,

i.e. without monthly specifications, and overnights on camping grounds off-season are merged

providing only one figure for the months of October, November and December, and another one forthe months of January, February and March.

Problems of monitoring also exist in terms of the development of the MICE sector, as data on

visitor motives are collected irregularly. VisitNordjyllandnotes that the MICE market is increasing in

importance also in connection with a general growth in the economy in this region as elsewhere in

Denmark (Pedersen). This indicates that most of the growth is attributable to the domestic MICE

market. A national study on the importance of the MICE segment supports this view showing that

most of its overnights and turnover in the Danish NSR (except in Ringkbing) is attributable to

Danish visitors (VisitDenmark 2007a).

The same analysis also illustrates the segments overall development by county in 2004 and 2005

using the indicators number of overnight stays, daily expenditure and turnover (see Table 5). The

data indicates that North Jutland plays a more important role at the national level than any other

counties of the Danish NSR. While the total number of overnights declined in this county, the daily

expenditure increased making North Jutland in terms of turnover the most significant region for

MICE after Copenhagen and Aarhus.

The development in the other counties of the Danish NSR is contradictory. While Viborg and

Snderjylland showed an increase in all indicators suggesting a positive evolution of MICE tourism,

Ribe and Ringkbing recorded a decrease in turnover due to a drop in overnights and in the case

of Ribe a decline in the daily spending. However, as only a two years period is considered these

increases and decreases may be rather spurious; hence not reflecting any consistent trends.

Nevertheless, the daily expenditure by the MICE segment is still extremely high in comparison to

the amount holiday tourists spend per day.


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Table 5: MICE - Overnight Stays, Daily Expenditure, Turnover by county 2004-2005

Overnight Stays in 1000 Daily Expenditure in DKK Turnover in million DKK

2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005

SnderjyllandsAmt

26 29 2,462 2,931 64 85

Ribe Amt 84 83 2,321 1,843 195 153

RingkbingAmt 63 24 2,397 3,375 151 81

Viborg Amt 41 70 2,366 2,671 97 187

NordjyllandsAmt 250 213 2,540 3,850 635 820


The average daily spending of coastal tourists in the Danish NSR has developed unevenly across

the various counties (see Table 6). However, all regions but the county Ringkbing recorded an

increase in daily spending. The variations may be explained by the different share in particular

nationalities and possibly also their choice of accommodation facility. As already indicated in

section 3.1 (Table 3) Germans and Dutch spend very little per day in comparison to the Danes,

Swedes and Norwegians irrespective of the chosen type of accommodation. Annual variations in

the daily spending of each nationality have been observed; however, the overall scale has been

unchanged. Peter Saabye describes the situation as follows: Sorry, Germans dont spend money.The expenditure, I think, was approximately 270 DKK back in 1996 and now, I think, we are close

to 350 DKK per day. Thats nothing. The expert acknowledges an increase in the absolute amount

spent per day while stressing that the relative daily spending has remained low thus indicating that

changes in the observed data may be attributable to the annual inflation rate.

Table 6: Coastal Tourism - Daily Spending in DKK by county 2004-2005

SnderjyllandsAmt


Viborg Amt NordjyllandsAmt

2004 383 352 308 328 4252005 445 386 304 434 434


The low spending may be explained by the price levels in Denmark, which are perceived as very

high by Germans and Dutch thus motivating visitors from those source markets to carry along the


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things needed from home. The practice of consuming goods purchased at home throughout the

holidays is especially common among tourists staying in self-catering types of accommodation.

Details on the development of the segments spending behaviour are not available. The experts

stress that tourist behaviour and daily spending have not altered significantly thus indicating that

also spending behaviour has been unchanged. An analysis by VisitDenmarkexploring domestic

and inbound visitors overall spending in 2004 suggests that foreign one-day excursionists spent

most of the money on foods and drinks including tobacco while Danish excursionists spent most on

culture and entertainment as well as restaurants. For domestic and inbound tourists, i.e. visitors

staying overnight, accommodation was one of the main expenditures followed by expenditures

related to food consumption, i.e. grocery shopping and visits to restaurants. (VisitDenmark 2006d)

The future evolution of expenditures will depend on the collaborative development and marketing

of attractive tourist experiences to the various target groups, especially to the empty nester andsenior segments, as well as on the development of external factors such as price levels in the

source and destination countries.

As indicated external factors shape tourist behaviour. One of them is safety and security concerns.

While neither analyses nor experts identify those issues as decision criteria for or against a

vacation in the Danish NSR, safety and security concerns may shape pre-travel individual

perceptions of the destination, the so-called destination image, and thus indirectly affect

destination choice. However, as many of the visitors to the region have already become familiar

with the destination during previous visits, it can be assumed that to them safety and security are

either of no particular concern or that they do not associate high risks with a visit to the Danish

NSR. The fact that the majority of the visitors come from the home or nearby markets may also

have a positive effect on the evaluation of the safety and security situation in the destination.

Denmark is located in geographic proximity, has an image of being hyggelig, cosy, (see section

3.2) and is part of the European Union thus sharing i.a. one political, economic and legal

framework with most of the origin countries. Those circumstances may reduce perceived risks

associated with travel.

The travel itself, i.e. to, from and within the Danish NSR, is dominated by the use of car. Lars

Enevold Pedersen suggests that 98% of all visitors come by car. This situation may partly be

attributable to the tourism offer, which is according to the experts aimed at independent travellers

using their own vehicle, as well as to the limitations in public transportation. The holiday houses

and some of the attractions like the Wadden Sea Centre are located in villages or in the

countryside and are thus not connected or infrequently served by buses. The predominance of the

car as means of transportation has not changed and is also not expected to do so in the future.


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Ferry connections have played a supplementary role carrying tourists and their cars from the

source markets in Norway, Sweden, UK and Germany. Airports have had little significance for

coastal tourism in the region; they serve primarily as departure point for outbound travel and to a

limited degree also as feeding channel for business tourism.

Bicycling has been playing an increasingly important role as a leisure activity in the region. In 2004,

5.5 million of the overall 42 million overnights in Denmark were attributable to cycle tourists, an

increase of 3.7% compared to 2002. 57% of the cycle tourists were Germans, 33% were Danes,

and 9.1% originated from one of the other three economically important source markets (Norway,

Netherlands and Sweden). The growing significance of cycling is also reflected by the identification

of this special interest segment as a target group and by the national initiative Aktiv Danmark,

which aims to improve the cycling experience through networking and the development of a quality

system. (Aktiv Danmark) Furthermore, many tourists who use their own car as the means oftransportation to the destination bring along their bicycles or rent them at the destination. Hence, to

these visitors bicycle rides are an integral part of their holidays in the region, even though bicycles

are not their main means of transportation.

Part of an analysis of visitors travel behaviour is the investigation of their information and booking

behaviour. There is a general agreement among the experts that the internet is increasing in

significance, a trend that is reflected by the DMOs focus on the improvement of their website

presentation and the general statement of VisitDenmarkBookingthat website visits and bookings

are steadily increasing (VisitDenmark Booking). However, only sporadic surveys have been

undertaken in regards to information and booking behaviour thus inhibiting a systematic analysis of

changes in the behaviour over time.

One of the surveys was conducted among tourist segments visiting the area of six municipalities12

in West Jutland. In 2004, 2153 interviews were done with Danish and German families and adults

over 40 years travelling without children in peak and off-season. Noting that the results of this

survey are by no means conclusive, they may help to get an idea of the segments information and

booking behaviour. The internet was the most commonly used source of information among

Danish and German families both in and off season. While among German adults over 40

catalogues played the most important role followed by the internet, catalogues and other 13

sources such as WOM were the most popular sources for Danes. Tourist offices were

predominantly used by Germans. In addition to the information search the accommodation booking

12 The six municipalities are: Egvad, Holmsland, Ringkbing, Skjern, Thyborn and Ulfborg-Vemb.13 The other category includes all sources of information other than tourist offices, fairs/exhibitions,catalogues and the internet.


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behaviour was explored. The internet played a more important role off season and was mostly

used by families thus indicating that this segment turns more frequently to the internet for

information and booking than the other groups. Among all but the German families the telephone

was the more popular means of booking in 2004. However, the report mentions that since theundertaking of the survey the use of the telephone has declined to the advantage of the internet.

The time frame in relation to destination choice was also researched within the survey. The

expectation that decisions would be made on shorter notice during off-season was not confirmed.

Indeed, Danish adults demonstrated a lot more spontaneity during peak season with 50% of the

interviewees having decided for the destination up to maximum 5 weeks before taking the holiday.

Their last minute decisions indicate the importance of weather conditions in their destination

choice. If the weather is good, they stay in Denmark; if the weather is bad, they make use of last

minute offers to travel to sun and sea destinations elsewhere. However, the majority of the Danishfamilies decided for the destination earlier on, namely up to 10 weeks in advance. This may be

attributable to the increased efforts associated with the organization of a family trip. In contrast to

the Danes, German families and adults tend to decide much more in advance on their holiday

destination. About 1/3 of the interviewees decided on their trip 11-26 weeks beforehand and

another 1/3 indicated an even longer planning period. (VisitDenmark 2007b)

Two other analyses explore the common information and booking behaviour of Danish, German

and Swedish adults over 45 years. They indicate that Swedish visitors rely predominantly on

WOM, followed by catalogues, TV reports and brochures as sources of information. The initial

information gathered from those sources is afterwards supplemented by information from the

internet. Booking of outbound travel is predominantly conducted through the travel agency. 23% of

the Swedish adults use the internet for their booking, i.e. the internet plays a minor role as

inspirational source for vacations but is important for complementary information and booking.

(VisitDenmark 2005a)

Furthermore the studies agree with the expert comments that in general the decision process is

dominated by the woman/wife/mother, who takes the initiative, searches for information and

presents the destination choice(s). However, among adults over 45 travelling without children a

larger share of jointly made decision making is observable.

The destination choice depends to a large extent on the natural and cultural offer in the region. As

indicated in section 3.2nature is the primary pull factor. We have the nature, we have the sea, we

have a coastline where you can walk and where you dont have to pay, we have the dunes, we

have the forests behind, and we have the small (..) [creek] valleys with fishing and so on


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(Hornum). Nature is considered the stage for the tourist activities such as walking, bathing, getting

exercise, relaxing and breathing the fresh air. The increase in special interest tourism demand

related to nature including fishing, cycling and bird watching, and a growth in the demand for

guided nature tours (Melbye) indicate a greater appreciation of the regions nature by tourists. Thisdevelopment has not gone unnoticed by the accommodation industry, who increasingly collaborate

with the nature activity providers to arrange trips for their customers (ibid).

Related to the appreciation of the regions natural beauty is an awareness of the environmental

quality. Bodil Glistrup suggests that especially German visitors have a high level of environmental

awareness. They e.g. go to the tourist office asking where to separate the garbage and complain

when the beach or its facilities are dirty. The tourism actors are aware of the important role the

environmental quality plays and thus collaborate on issues such as certified nature guiding,

creation of trails, installation of dust bins and toilets, etc. Furthermore, legislation and qualitysystems promote the safeguarding of the environment. Examples in latter regard are the 9014 Blue

Flag certified beaches in West and North Jutland (VisitNordjylland 2007a).

Culture is viewed by the experts as a supplementary offer, not being of primary attractiveness in

the Danish NSR except in Aalborg, a popular city break destination (see 3.1).

Especially for people visiting this area its not one of the top ten [motives] and its not areason to go. Its good its there if its a rainy day and you need something else to dobut its not a reason to go, not for Germans, not for Swedes, not for Danes. (Hornum)

The experts point out that the visitors to the region, especially the ones from Germany, have a

much broader cultural offer at home and that culture is thus not a selling point. Visitors to theregion spend less money on culture compared to the national average (Pedersen). Nevertheless,

towns, museums, special events, etc. receive a lot of visitors. Thus, products based on the regions

cultural assets are increasingly developed. Initiatives and networks for the development of regional

products including craftworks and foods are established throughout the region (see Snderjyske

Madglde), the latter as part of an overall redevelopment of the agricultural regions. At the

moment, it is hoped rather than actually known that those regional products will be attractive to and

hence demanded by the target segments, especially the empty nesters and seniors.

In conclusion, tourism demand has changed little in the Danish NSR within the last five years. The

domestic demand is increasingly important while the German market, especially due to the

shortening of stays, has not recovered in terms of number of overnights in all parts of the region

yet. The most used types of accommodation are holiday houses and camping targeted at

independent car travellers and allowing for cost-saving self-catering. In contrast to the coastal

14 Snderjyllands Amt is not included in the analysis on which the number is based on.


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tourists, the MICE segment demonstrates much higher daily expenditure and moderate growth in

the number of overnights due to the economic upturn in the region, especially in North Jutland.

Tourism in the Danish NSR continues to be concentrated around the summer months but the trend

of frequent shorter stays is viewed as an opportunity for extension of the season. The touristsappreciation of the nature in the region and the awareness

tourism profile denmark - sdu esbjerg

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