Do you speak your visitors' languages? The data says otherwise
Copenhagen is a magnet for culture-minded travellers. But if your museum only interprets in Danish and English, you are missing a chance to engage visitors more deeply.
The 2018 figures, which have long circulated in the sector, are no longer a good basis for decisions. VisitDenmark calls 2025 a record year for overnight stays. Foreign visitors drove the growth. Danish overnight stays fell.
There is not a full, updated nationality split for Copenhagen in 2025, equivalent to Wonderful Copenhagen's old city tourism report. What we have are the national overnight-stay figures and VisitDenmark's priority markets. That is what this guide is built on.
Even though many people speak English, visitors engage more, stay longer and buy more in the museum shop when they are met in their mother tongue. The question is which languages you should prioritise when the budget is not unlimited.
What we actually know about 2025
VisitDenmark's final key figures for 2025 are 66.6 million overnight stays in Denmark. The provisional figures from February 2026 stood at 65.9 million. The difference is that the final figures also include overnight accommodation with fewer than 40 bed spaces. Use 66.6 million as the final figure.
The provisional figures, which VisitDenmark released on 11 February 2026, show the direction:
- Foreign overnight stays: 35.3 million, +3.1% (record)
- Danish overnight stays: 30.6 million, −1.2%
Market development 2025 (national overnight stays, not a Copenhagen museum split):
| Market | Overnight stays 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 21.7 million | +2.5% |
| The Netherlands | 1.8 million | unchanged |
| Norway | 1.5 million | −4.4% |
| Sweden | 1.5 million | +3.6% |
| USA | 1.2 million | +8.3% |
| United Kingdom | 1.1 million | −3.2% |
| France | 518,202 | +3.9% |
| Italy | 478,196 | −1.3% |
Germany is in a class of its own. The rest of the top tier is neighbouring countries, the USA and the United Kingdom, then the Romance languages. That is as close as we get to an evidence-based language priority in 2026, without inventing a Copenhagen split.
From 2026, VisitDenmark is also expanding to eight core markets plus six development markets: Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Spain and India. The report "The Economic Importance of Tourism" (July 2026) notes that China grew 42% and India 20% in 2025. Polish, Spanish and Indian languages therefore become more relevant target languages for Danish cultural interpretation, including in Copenhagen.
Your language strategy: a prioritised list
Based on the verified 2025 figures, a modern language strategy for a Copenhagen museum should look like this:
1. The absolute foundation: English and German
English covers both British and American visitors and works as a shared language for many others. German is the largest foreign market, with 21.7 million overnight stays nationally. Germans are often cultural tourists, and they expect information in German. Leave out German, and you leave out the largest foreign group.
2. The neighbours: Swedish, Norwegian and Dutch
Many museums skip Swedish and Norwegian and think "they understand Danish". Norway and Sweden both sit at 1.5 million overnight stays. The Netherlands sits even higher, at 1.8 million. Offering an audio guide in your neighbours' languages signals a hospitality that sets you apart.
3. The Romance languages: French, Italian and Spanish
This is where the potential for misunderstanding is greatest if you only have English. In 2025 France and Italy sit at just over 500,000 and just under 480,000 overnight stays. Spain is at the same time one of VisitDenmark's new development markets. Visitors from these countries look for attractions that are accessible in their mother tongue.
4. Growth markets: Polish, Hindi and Chinese
Here we do not have a Copenhagen share for 2025. What we have are VisitDenmark's new development markets and the documented growth from China and India. If you already cover the foundation, this is the next natural step.
Why settle for 2 languages when you can have 40?
It used to be financially impossible to offer audio guides in 8-10 different languages. It required expensive translators, studio time, actors and editing. That is why most museums ended up with only Danish and English, and perhaps German if the budget was large.
With museumguide.com we turn that logic on its head.
By using our technology you can cover the list above, from German and English to Italian, Spanish, Polish and Chinese, without it costing more than a fraction of a traditional production.
The benefits of widening the language range:
- Higher satisfaction: Visitors who fully understand the interpretation have a better experience.
- Better flow: When visitors listen in their own language, they spread out more evenly and stop at the right objects.
- SEO benefits: When tourists search for "Copenhagen museum spanish guide" or the equivalent in German, Polish or Hindi, you become visible to the markets VisitDenmark now prioritises.
How to test it (for free)
You do not have to take my word for it. Try hearing how your museum interpretation sounds in German, Italian or Japanese.
- Go to our website: museum-guide.com
- Enter a short text from your current exhibition
- Choose one of the languages the statistics show you are missing (for example German or Spanish)
- Receive an audio demo straight away
It is the fastest way to get your museum ready for the foreign visitors who are actually coming.
Sources
- VisitDenmark: Modest advance in Danish tourism (provisional 2025 figures)
- VisitDenmark: Key figures on Danish tourism
- VisitDenmark: Annual report 2024-2025 (PDF)
- VisitDenmark: The economic importance of tourism (PDF)
- VisitDenmark: Attractions in Denmark (the Attractions List discontinued)
Read more guides on museum operations and technology at museum-guide.com/en/blog
About the author: Thøger Elung-Jensen is co-founder of Audioguiden and works to help museums use AI to take their interpretation to more people.