In summary, Flåm, which has up to 20,000 visitors daily in the summer, has seen an increase of 25 per cent in winter tourists from 2019 to this year’s winter season. This is part of a larger trend, where the Bergen region has also seen an increase of 84 per cent in overnight stays in hotels during the winter over the past seven years. The tourism industry has worked to develop the markets and extend the season, which creates more year-round jobs in the villages. One of the measures has been to work for several flight routes to Norway. Sustainability researcher Carlo Aal at Vestlandsforsking believes that more tourists to Norway is not sustainable from a climate and environmental perspective, while the managing director of NHO Reiseliv, Kristin Krohn Devold, believes that good electric transport solutions within Norway can justify more frequent flights. In Flåm there are up to 20,000 visitors daily in the summer, a village with just under 300 permanent residents. For several years, the tourist magnet has worked to ensure that tourists also come in winter. Now they are well on their way. From 2019 to the forecasts for this year’s winter season, there has been an increase of 25 per cent in winter tourists. Flåmsbana is full of life in October, despite the colder weather and shorter days. Photo: Geir Bjarte Hjetland / news – People want to experience the original Norwegian, and it doesn’t have to be in the summer, says Per Brochmann. He is group manager of Norways Best, which is a co-owner of Flåmsbana, and runs hotel and boat operations in the village. And Flåm is not alone in attracting tourists in the colder months. Big increase in tourists to Western Norway In the Bergen region, there has been an increase of 84 per cent in overnight stays in hotels during the winter over the past seven years, according to figures from Wiederstrøm Hotel Consulting. The number is significantly higher than the increase in winter tourism nationally, which is a 34 per cent increase. In Flåm, it tends to be overflowing with tourists in the summer. Now the tourism industry hopes that the same number of tourists will come in the winter. Photo: Sondre Dalaker / news – Now it is not entirely new in the industry that the Bergen region has had an extremely good development in terms of “winter hotel traffic” in the last seven years, but I would probably still characterize this as a sensational figure, says hotel advisor Peter Wiederstrøm at Wiederstrøm Hotel Consulting. He adds that there may be some margins of error in the statistics. Last year too, tourism along the Westland fjords cheered for good visitor numbers. – We see far more winter tourists here now than there has been before. But we are not very surprised either, we have worked in a targeted manner, said Stein Ove Rolland in Fjord Noreg As at the time. Several flight routes According to Audun Pettersen, branch director of Reiseliv i Virke, winter tourism in Norway has long been linked to skiing and snow. Now many of the typical summer destinations, such as Flåm, have become good at developing their markets and extending the season. This creates more year-round jobs in the villages. – It is very positive when traditional summer destinations start to grow in other parts of the year, as it creates greater ripple effects locally. Even though it is October and stormy weather, there are many cruise tourists in Vik i Sogn. The industry would rather invest in tourists who stay longer in the country. Photo: Ingeborg Grindheim Slinde / news One of the steps the industry has taken is to work for more flight routes to Norway, says Pettersen. – We have new flight routes to and from the continent. It is not only to Gardermoen, but also other parts of the country. Increased availability also means that more people will come. What do you think about an extended tourist season and more tourists entering Norway by plane? At the bottom of the case, you can have your say. Researcher: – No longer sustainable Sustainability researcher Carlo Aal at Vestlandsforsking believes, on the other hand, that more tourists coming to Norway is not sustainable from a climate and environmental perspective. – The problem with that is that very much of the transport in and out of Norway is by plane. Then, unfortunately, there will be no more sustainability globally, even if there will be more money in the coffers and better housing in the rural areas. Carlo Aal at Vestlandsforsking says it is incompatible with sustainable tourism when it depends on more air transport into the country. Photo: Oda F. Lødemel / news He believes that the key to more sustainable tourism, among other things, lies in getting more people to take the train to Norway. Managing director of NHO Reiseliv, Kristin Krohn Devold, believes that there is no problem with more planes. Managing director of NHO Reiseliv, Kristin Krohn Devold, believes that there is no problem with more planes. Photo: Oda Hveem/NHO Reiseliv / NHO Reiseliv | Oda Hveem Ho points out that good electric transport solutions within Norway can justify more frequent flights. – If we manage to reduce transport by ferry, bus, car and lorry, then we can also tolerate a slight increase in air traffic without the overall picture being destroyed. According to NHO Reiseliv, every hotel bed in Norway is empty all year round. – Utilizing the capacity we already have is sustainable, says Devold in NHO. Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Published 29/10/2024, at 05.54
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Tourism wants full flights with tourists to Norway – climate researchers call it unsustainable – news Vestland
