To limit cruise traffic in Norwegian fjords, the owner of Viking Cruises, Torstein Hagen, will introduce a fee per cruise tourist, reports NRK.
The cruise billionaire believes that it is not “a pretty sight” when cruise ships with several thousand passengers add to the quay in a small places like Geiranger or Flåm. Hagen therefore proposes a local charge per tourist and restrictions that prevent the largest ships from entering Norwegian fjords.
“We have beautiful things to offer, and then I think it is reasonable that cities impose a fee. And then you regulate the demand for how much people are willing to pay,” says Hagen to NRK.
He himself does not conceal that a tourist tax and size restriction are unlikely to scare his own customers, as the Viking shipping company focuses on smaller cruise ships and does not operate in low-price voyages.
Director Inge Tallerås in the cruise organization’s interest organization Cruise Norway is positive to NRK for a tourist tax, but says it must apply to all tourists and should go to building infrastructure such as toilets and signage for tourists.
Active tourism has previously been positive to tourist tax, while NHO tourism has been very skeptical.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
