A few cruiseships are venturing back into Norwegian harbours, to a mixed welcome. While some local officials are glad to see them return, others warn that the Corona crisis is far from over and many passengers won’t be allowed to go ashore. “We’re very glad the ships are now coming,” Solrunn Hjelleflat, chief executive of […]
Extra ferry may end Helgeland chaos
July 13, 2020
Embarrassed politicians in Nordland County finally came up with the millions needed to charter in an extra ferry this week, after several days of kilometer-long lines of cars trying to travel among the islands of the Helgeland coast. Officials had hoped Norwegian tourists would make up for the lack of foreign tourists in Norway, but […]
Norway eases its border restrictions
July 10, 2020
The Norwegian government relaxed a wide range of border restrictions within Europe and beyond on Friday. It was welcome news for Norway’s troubled tourism industry, family reunions and travel-starved Norwegians, but officials stressed the risk of sudden changes in travel regulations and individual responsibility for the consequences. It all means that Norwegians can once again […]
State may cover travellers’ losses
June 9, 2020
Around 200,00o Norwegians still haven’t been reimbursed for airline tickets and holiday tour packages they purchased before the Corona virus cancelled most all travel abroad. Cash-strapped airlines and travel organizers aren’t readily refunding their customers’ money, which amounts to billions of kroner in Norway alone, but now the state may cover customer losses if the […]
Great start to wild salmon fishing season
June 2, 2020
Norwegian rivers, swelled by record snowmelt, have already yielded some huge wild salmon and trout, and this year, Norwegian sportsfishers have the rivers to themselves. Foreigners willing and able to pay enormous prices to fish in privately owned rivers still aren’t allowed to enter Norway because of Corona virus containment measures. The season officially started […]
Economy picks up, krone strengthens
June 2, 2020
Norway is once again being branded as fundamentally different from the rest of the world, as it emerges from the Corona darkness. While its own Corona virus crisis initially hit hard, infection and death rates have remained low and now the economy is showing numerous signs of recovery. In the past week alone, more people […]
Norwegians set sights on Lofoten
May 15, 2020
Unable to travel abroad this summer, Norwegians like others around the world are preparing for holidays in their own scenic homeland. A new survey shows that the Lofoten islands in Northern Norway are the top destination of choice. The survey, conducted by research firm Norstat for the online travel service Finn reise, showed fully three […]
Corona spoils summer abroad
May 15, 2020
The Norwegian government announced Friday afternoon that it intends to maintain its foreign travel restrictions until August 20. That means thousands of Norwegians will likely need to cancel long-planned summer holidays abroad, if they haven’t already. So much for lazy days on a beach in Thailand, Crete og the Canary Islands: Prime Minister Erna Solberg […]
Hurtigruten demands crisis aid
May 7, 2020
Norway’s venerable coastal voyage line Hurtigruten, now mostly a cruiseline, was sailing full steam ahead until the Corona virus crisis forced most of its vessels into lay-up and cut off revenue. Now it doesn’t qualify for the emergency aid offered by the government, because its credit rating has been severely downgraded. “It’s a paradox that we, […]
Skiers took crisis home from Tyrol
March 22, 2020
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 […]
CURRENCY RATES