After shipbuilding challenges and lengthy delays that forced cancellation of 10 cruises in the Antarctic, Norway’s coastal voyage line Hurtigruten offered a peek this week at its new hybrid cruiseships, the first of their kind in the world. If all goes well now, the MS Roald Amundsen will start sailing this spring. “With this ship […]
Norway to crack down on Airbnb
December 7, 2018
The Norwegian government is poised to tighten and clarify regulations for short-term rental of residential property, in new legislation sent to Parliament on Friday. The goal is to crack down on what government minister Monica Mæland calls the “pure hotel operations” that have sprung up since online accommodation service Airbnb entered the market. The main […]
Bergen is most future-oriented
December 5, 2018
Norway’s West Coast city of Bergen has preserved its history but also is best equipped to tackle the future, according to a survey of the country’s 71 largest cities. Bergen tops the list, followed by Bryne farther south in Rogaland, and Kongsberg, which has been attracting new businesses for years. The survey, conducted by consulting […]
Coastal town put under preservation
November 30, 2018
The Norwegian government put the central portion of an entire coastal town under historic preservation orders on Friday. Once known as a sailing ship and herring hub, the unique white wooden buildings of Skudeneshavn are now meant to be saved forever. “We want to secure an extremely special and well-preserved coastal town,” said Ola Elvestuen, […]
Rockslides threaten famed ‘Trollstigen’
November 22, 2018
After years of fears that a nearby mountain may come crashing down, geologists and state highway officials have turned their attention to one of Norway’s most well-known highways. “Trollstigen” now appears far more vulnerable to land-and rockslides than earlier thought. “The risk of slides exceeds acceptable risk,” according to a new report delivered to the […]
Calls rise to limit cruiseship arrivals
October 24, 2018
Increasingly fierce opposition to the numbers of large cruiseships docking in Norway in recent years is finally being heard. Officials in Bergen, Norway’s busiest cruise destination, are now asking the state for permission to limit the number of cruiseships to three per day, in an effort to control the hordes of tourists who’ve been inundating […]
Landmark waterfall safer for tourists
September 21, 2018
PHOTO FEATURE: One of Norway’s most spectacular waterfalls became safer for visiting tourists this past summer. After three fatalities at the site since 2009, Vøringsfossen now sports a complex of secure viewing platforms that are likely to become a landmark themselves. Work began several years ago to secure the trails running along steep mountainsides near […]
Fewer Chinese tourists in Norway
September 10, 2018
After several years with strong growth, the numbers of Chinese tourists spending the night in Norwegian hotels have fallen this summer. So have the numbers of overnight visitors from the UK and Sweden, while Germans and Americans pushed the numbers up. The trend from June continued in July, according to the latest figures from state […]
‘Russ’ take partying and brawls abroad
August 7, 2018
Norway’s notorious high school seniors known as “russ” have landed in trouble this summer, after exporting their rowdiness and rivalries to holiday spots in the Mediterranean. Hotel, restaurant and bar owners on the Greek islands of Kos and Ios have had their fill of young Norwegians “who feel they have a right to do what […]
Tourist killed after ignoring warnings
August 6, 2018
A 38-year-old Austrian tourist was killed on Sunday afternoon after he allegedly ignored warnings and wandered beyond the chains that cordon off the Nigard Glacier in the mountains of central Norway. As many as nine others had done the same, but escaped injury when a massive ice block broke off the glacier and crashed into […]
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