Daily spending highest among Chinese tourists in Norway

OSLO - Chinese tourists are, on average, the biggest spenders in Norway as more and more people from China have been visiting the Nordic country in recent years, local media reported.

Recent statistics from Innovation Norway showed that the average Chinese tourist spent 8,130 kroner ($1,008) per day during their visit to Norway, VG newspaper reported Saturday on its website.

Chinese tourists spent nearly eight times as much money per day as German tourists, who on average spent 1,060 kroner daily in Norway.

Tourists from other Asian countries ranked second on the list with consumption at 4,410 kroner per day, followed by Southern Europeans as well as Americans.

At the bottom of the list were tourists from the rest of Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Germany.

The spending figures included accommodation, transportation, dining, experiences, and shopping, according to the VG report.

Figures from Statistics Norway, the country's statistics bureau, showed a sharp increase in the number of visitors from China to the Scandinavian country in recent years, up from 52,000 in 2009 to 175,000 in 2014.

According to a recent report by Innovation Norway, consumption among tourists in Norway in 2014 totalled over 60 billion kroner, with business travelers spending about 32.4 billion kroner and leisure travelers 28.2 billion kroner.

Norwegians who travel in-country were the source of the majority of consumption, spending 43.1 billion kroner while foreign visitors spent about 17.3 billion kroner in the year.