Tourists greatly outnumbered by foreign workers

A far greater proportion of foreigners in the Faroes are here for work, short-term or long-term, than for tourism purposes.

Statistics Faroe Islands reports that hotels and other accommodation services had 5,500 more overnight stays in the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period last year. This is an increase of 4.5 percent.

The most remarkable change, however, is that the number of people coming to the Faroes for work purposes has risen by 50 percent in the past year, while tourist numbers went down by 15 percent in the same period.

The number of hotel lodgings increased in the capital region but remained unchanged elsewhere in the country.

Some 70 percent of all hotel stays are now in the capital region, where the number of registrations has risen by around 2,500. Elsewhere in the country this number has gone down by almost 2,700.

These figures do not include Airbnb as Statistics Faroe Islands has no access to Airbnb data.

Translated by prosa.fo