Tourist boom in Northern Norway
Norway’s three northernmost counties are experiencing a large influx of tourists. Compared to the rest of the country, the increase is prominent.
Northern Norway has had 19 percent more tourists so far in 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. This is a lot more than Norway in total, which has had a five percent increase in the number of tourists, says John-Steve Linløkken from Northern Norway tourist board to NRK.
Linløkken belives the positive trend is a result of more marketing and focusing. – We spend more money on marketing than before and we are working in a more goal-oriented way, Linløkken says, adding that companies like the coastal steamer Hurtigruten also play a big role in attracting tourists to the region.
A 134-hour long live broadcast of footage from the coastal steamer Hurtigruten’s cruise along the scenic coast of Norway became a major success with more than half of Norway’s population tuning in to watch. Hurtigruten’s booking center had 15 times as many calls as usual in the days following the broadcast.
Hotels in Norway’s northernmost county Finnmark had 14 percent more guests in the six first months of the year compared to 2010. This is somewhat less than Troms and Nordland, but still more than the rest of Norway, newspaper Finnmarken writes.
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