Several thousand tourists from Northern Europe have, in the last few days, vacationed in Norway. The increase in both sea- and air-traffic gives hope in saving summer.
The opening of Norway’s borders for multiple European countries has had a ketchup-effect for the tourism industry. Several branches are reporting a significant increase by the tens of thousands of travelers the past week.
The government’s decision to open the border to most European countries has given a boost, especially in shipping. Since the opening of the border on the 15th of July, Color Line has transported an average of several thousands to Norway daily.
Transporting an average of 4,000 tourists per day
-” In the last five days since the opening, we have had a full ship, and daily transported an average of around 4,000 foreign tourists into Norway.”, said the Commercial Director, Frode Hansen, of Color Line to NTB.
Hansen has talked about a ketchup-effect and points out that many Northern Europeans who have been sitting on the fence are now flocking into Norway. He hopes and believes that the trend will continue in the weeks to come.
-” July is a high season for tourism from German and The Netherlands, but we are hoping that the numbers will stay high for the rest of summer.” he continues.
More international air-traffic
Avinor has also reported a higher level of activity on international travels, and that in the last week it has increased with about 25,000 more foreign passengers. The week before, the numbers were about 55,000, but the numbers are somewhere close to 80,000.
In three weeks, the number of passengers that have traveled to or from Norway has risen from 28,000 to today’s numbers.
-” We have seen a significant increase recently. It is naturally due to the lifting of travel restrictions and holiday period.” said the Senior Communications Consultant, Line Haugland, of Avinor to NTB.
-” We are expecting a steady increase when the community opens up more and more. That said, we are far from a normal situation for aviation, although it is gratifying to see that more routes are being opened for both home and abroad.” Haugland concludes.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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