Q&A: VisitDenmark’s trade manager Ninna Seerup

As UK visitation to Denmark surges, Aspire sits down with VisitDenmark’s senior travel trade manager Ninna Seerup to find out more about how agents can sell the destination, including its lesser-known gems.

Q: How important is the UK market for Danish tourism?

The UK is our fifth-highest market behind Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and visitation from the UK is always quite stable, so it’s a very important market for us. We measure our tourist visitation in bed-nights, and in 2024 there were 1,145,070 nights spent in Denmark by UK travellers, which is 3.3% of the international total (34,263,442) and an increase of 15.1% compared to 2023. So far this year, there have been 744,287 nights spent here by UK visitors from January to August, which is almost a 5% drop compared to last year.

However, January and February saw a big rise in interest, with 11.5% more nights spent here in January 2025 compared to 2024, and 3.5% more stays this February. There does seem to be a growing trend for off-season travel, and what’s unique for the UK is that it has a really good spread across the year compared to other markets, with a big peak in the summer as well.

Q: What are some of the lesser-known regions of Denmark that you would like agents to be more aware of?

We’re being asked more about unique places to stay to explore localised experiences and off-the-beaten-path countryside regions outside of Copenhagen, which is exciting.

A big focus for us is North Jutland – a unique island at the northernmost tip of the country. It’s a region where Danes go on holiday themselves to enjoy the beaches, nature and seaside hotels.

The Danish Lakelands in the middle of the Jutland peninsula is very popular, where visitors can dine really well and go for nice walks along the river in the peace and quiet. The area is quite unexplored, but there is a luxurious spa hotel there called Hotel Vejlefjord that’s in beautiful countryside.

On the east coast, you have shallow beaches that are very child-friendly, and on the west coast the weather is a bit wilder and you can go surfing. The town of Skagen is well-known for its art history because a group of 19^th and 20^th-century artists called the Skagen painters used to live there to paint the light, and the Skagen Museum and the artists’ houses are very popular.

Q: Can you tell us more about the Anna Ancher: Painting Light exhibition in London, and what this means for Danish tourism?

From last month to March 8, 2026, an exhibition of one of the most famous Skagen Painters Anna Ancher is being held at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, marking the first time her paintings have come to the UK. Her art highlights the beautiful light of North Jutland, so I really hope the exhibition will showcase that unique scenery, and that the paintings will plant a seed about the beauty of the region and visitors will want to go themselves.

If you travel to Skagen, you can visit Ancher’s house, which stands exactly as it did when she lived there and showcases the settings of some of her paintings, so I also hope visitors to the exhibition will be inspired to visit the region to find out more about her.

Q: Do you have a strategy for promoting visitation to Denmark’s lesser-known destinations?

Working with agents to promote these regions is something we’d like to do even more of. From Denmark’s perspective, it’s all about being able to provide activities, hotels and dining experiences that clients aren’t searching for themselves – that’s really where the travel trade comes in. We feel that travel agents and advisors can surprise clients with what’s on offer in Denmark that is less mainstream.

High-end and tailor-made travel is really good in these less well-known areas of Denmark because many of the hotels and restaurants are smaller, so small bookings instead of large groups are the best fit. Clients wanting to have exclusive experiences with a greater sense of privacy will enjoy these hidden gems.

Q: Tell us about your strategy for working with the UK trade.

We do multiple things to support the trade. We hold tailor-made events, mainly in London, which are often open to smaller operators and agencies. For example, we’ve held a movie screening promoting the seaside hotels in North Jutland, and a wine tasting to showcase what clients can experience in Denmark.

We host educational webinars, and we also have an agent training programme with Online Travel Training. We try to help agents become Denmark experts, with certificates available following training. Once or twice a year we try to host fam trips to show off the regions too.

Next year, we’re planning to work with the travel trade even more and be more strategic across markets, so hopefully we’ll have even more unique activities on offer.