Travel
Lapland:
Plans for the Republic of Santa Claus theme park north of Rovaniemi include a giant transparent dome with round-the-year artificial snowfall and northern lights, gingerbread houses, a tall Christmas-tree formed hotel and the world’s biggest sauna village.
Murmansk and Barentsburg could become vital ports for a new series of Russian medium-sized luxury ships aimed for grabbing a share of the booming Arctic expedition tourist market.
SeaDream’s new ship will be the most luxury expedition experience ever seen along the ice-edge north of Svalbard.
The establishment of a special customs regime around the remote archipelago would boost visits, says Aleksandr Kirilov.
«I can say without reservation that neither I nor anyone else at Poseidon Expeditions had any contact with officials at Rosmorrechflot regarding the denial of Hurtigruten’s application to visit Franz Josef Land,» says Nikolay Saveliev.
The sudden bankruptcy and liquidation of tour operator Thomas Cook will have an impact on businesses in Finnish Lapland, according to tourism agency Visit Lapland.
Visits to the Franz Josef Land must be made more attractive, leader of the local national park says.
The «Silver Explorer» gets escort by a Russian icebreaker as it launches its ice edge cruising through Russian Arctic waters.
17 high-power 150 kW chargers and eight fast chargers will make it possible for practically all kinds of electric cars to drive anywhere in Norway's northernmost region, even in freezing cold winter.
Local authorities in Khatanga aims for the development of a tourism route to the top of the world.
The two high-profile voyages had been planned for years with prestigious support from regional authorities in Murmansk.
The «Akademik Lomonosov» has been officially handed over to the Russian state nuclear power company.
Siste/ mest lest
Your next take-off from Murmansk might very well take you to Pushkin Airport, Russia’s busiest hub.
Mining companies are not welcome and the quickly growing tourism industry is run by local developers. Sustainable solutions lie behind our economic growth, says local politician Jaana Seipiharju.
You can rent it and set out on the journey of lifetime to places others can’t reach, the billionaire's promotion page reads.
Will accommodate 126 passengers and be able to sail in some of the most remote and pristine parts of the world.
37 of the 78 people onboard survived, investigation committee says.
When the Viking Sky, with 1,373 people on board, sent out a mayday Saturday afternoon after engine trouble stranded the cruise ship in stormy waters off the western coast of Norway, rescue services were quickly activated.
The first Boeing 737-800NG painted in the airline’s new SmartAvia branding made its first commercial flight this week.
A tourism information center supported by Chechen authorities is due to open in downtown Murmansk.
Scandinavian aviation authorities report a year-on-year increase in passengers at most northern airports in 2018.
Developers in Singapore intend to ship thousands of Asians to a tourism machine in Arctic waters
China, Singapore, UK and Italy top the list of tourists flying in to northern Finland during Christmas season.
People from Murmansk and northern Norway now have to fly via St. Petersburg or Moscow to get to Arkhangelsk.
Eyes On Barents
The purpose is to show the world that the polar night is not dark, but actually full of colors, says the local project coordinator.
About 95 charter planes bring Europeans to Finnish Lapland on Sunday, one of the busiest days in aviation history of northern Scandinavia.
Finland’s most know comic book characters get a huge snowcastle ready before Christmas in Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle.
Additional to the cruise ships, the ban will be imposed on all land based operations, like hotels, restaurants and other establishments in Longyearbyen.
“Brim Explorer” will sail the Lofoten archipelago during summer and whale watching from Tromsø during winter.
The first phase of Kittilä Airport’s new expansion project is nearly complete and its new areas will be open to the public next week, on Thursday, 22 November, according to national airport operator Finavia. The improvements are part of a 55 million euro project at airports across Lapland.
28 new ships by 2022:
28 (and counting) new expedition ships capable of sailing Arctic waters are coming to the market over the next four years.
Cold climate is no obstacle for green battery commuting in the largest city in Sweden’s northernmost county.
Flights are scheduled from Istanbul three times a week starting from next winter season.
Barentsburg panorama. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Barentsburg with the Grønfjord glacier. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The new restaurant Krasniy Medved (Red bear). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
With Lenin in front, the stele honouring communism was erected in 1974 to mark Svalbard's first multi-storey residential building. The text reads "Our goal is communism". The slogan in the mountain reads Mir i Mir - (Peace and Earth). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
A growing number of tourists are visiting Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Souvenir shop in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Nordenskiöld glacier. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Norwegian post service in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Arctic foxes. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The coal plant in Barentsburg consumes about 30,000 tons of coal annually. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Ivan Velichenko shows a bottle of the town's own vodka named Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Nordre Isfjorden National Park. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The new hotel in Barentsburg has room for 90 guests. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Lunchtime for this polar bear cub. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Old Finnish houses in Barentsburg. Nordre Isfjorden National Park in the background. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
A polar bear and a reindeer are on display in a corner at the library in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The polar bear in the library wears helmet. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Upgrades of the infrastructure in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Coal mine facilities. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
GoArctica's boat is painted in Ukrainian colours. About 60% of the people living in Barentsburg are Ukrainians. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
GoArctic's boat "Barentsburg" has both Norwegian and Russian flag in the mast. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Russia has a rather large Consulate General in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Waste sorting. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Samovar (tea boiler). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Arcticugol Spitsbergen is the state-owned company in charge of all activities in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Rail tracks into the coal mine in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Coal miner. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Coal mine. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Going deep-down. Mining operation today happens at 1,200 meters deep. Workers need about an hour to get down. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Back up after a long nights work in the mine. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
All coal mining happens underground. Photo: Thomas Nislen
Coal harbour from where ships bring the coal to England. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Maybe not the highlight of a guided tour in Arctic Barentsburg. The mine's waste dump. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The cultural palace has seats for 450 people. That is about everyone who lives in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Kola Science Centre has a research station in Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Both Barentsburg and Pyramiden have their own vodka brands. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Nordenskiöld glacier. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The three-mast sailing ship Antigua at the Nordenskiöld glacier, Svalbard. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Norway aims at being in the forefront in Europe of providing shore electricity to cut emission, but that might be a challenge at ports in the high north where power line capacity is limited.
