It isn’t migrants, refugees or terrorists who ended up posing the biggest threat and bringing the greatest crisis to Norway since World War II. It landed at airports around the country in early March, when more than 500 affluent Norwegians returned from skiing holidays in the Austrian alps of Tyrol and brought the Corona virus […]
Svalbard tourism chills scientists
March 5, 2020
Growing numbers of tourists are leaving a worrisome footprint on Svalbard’s fragile environment, according to the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). In a new study, NINA proposes tougher regulation of tourism in the Arctic archipelago and of the cruise industry in particular. “The increasing tourism has clear negative effects,” NINA scientist Hogne Øian told […]
Arctic tax break offer sparks interest
January 6, 2020
The mayor of the small town of Bø in Vesterålen, Northern Norway, was in Oslo on Monday to futher promote his local council’s decision to cut fortune taxes as a means of attracting investment. Not as much promotion as he’d thought was needed, though, after a major British paper picked up on the tax break […]
North Cape finally freed for visitors
December 21, 2019
Norwegians and tourists alike have received a surprise Christmas gift, after the county governor of Troms og Finnmark decided that hotel and real estate company Scandic can no longer charge admission fees to Norway’s famed North Cape plateau. The ruling overrides an earlier agreement between Scandic and the local municipal council. High admission fees to […]
Norway rolls up the welcome mat
November 13, 2019
New studies show that a solid majority of Norwegians are fed up with mass tourism and want to impose more taxes on tourists, especially those arriving on cruiseships and arranging accommodation through Airbnb. Now even the national employers’ association NHO is calling for major cuts in cruiseship arrivals. The call comes after this week’s release […]
Woman killed in fall off Hurtigruten ship
October 31, 2019
A woman believed to have been on board a Hurtigruten vessel died on Thursday after reportedly falling off the ship as it was arriving at Ålesund Wednesday evening. Police reported they had no reason to believe there was any criminal activity involved as they continued to investigate how the incident occurred. The woman, whose identity […]
Hotel owner part of group buying Ving
October 30, 2019
Petter Stordalen, Norway’s flamboyant hotel owner and real estate investor, emerged Wednesday as part of a group that’s buying the Ving charter tour group’s operations in the Nordic countries from the bankrupt travel firm Thomas Cook. Stordalen’s Strawberry Group will take over Vinggruppen along with investment funds Altor and TDR Capital. Strawberry and Altor are […]
Government slashes funds to promote tourism
October 7, 2019
The Norwegian government plans to cut more than 20 percent out of its funding for tourism marketing next year. The state budget presented on Monday still includes NOK 180 million to help promote Norway, but that’s NOK 51.5 million less than last year. The government claims that increased digitalization and use of social media has […]
Bodø wins as a ‘Capital of Culture’
September 25, 2019
The Norwegian city of Bodø has become the first city north of the Arctic Circle and outside the EU to become a European Capital of Culture, in 2024. Civic boosters in Bodø were celebrating on Wednesday, after attracting the biggest international event ever in Northern Norway. “We are incredibly glad today,” Bodø Mayor Ida Pinnerød […]
Ving to resume flights on Tuesday
September 23, 2019
Ving Norge, the Norwegian subsidiary of bankrupt charter tour company Thomas Cook, claimed Monday night that its customers could start taking off on holiday again from Tuesday. Thomas Cook’s Nordic operations, Vinggruppen, said it could resume flights despite its owner’s severe financial troubles. “Early tomorrow (Tuesday) we’ll have three flights that can take our customers […]
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