The village Reine is a well-liked spot for images in Norway’s Lofoten.
Norway has toyed with the thought of introducing a vacationer tax for a while now with a view to assist smaller municipalities address mass tourism. Now the federal government has confirmed it is going to introduce such a program and that Norway’s picturesque Lofoten islands would be the location for a pilot implementation.
If profitable, different locations that might see a tourist tax embrace the North Cape, Beitostølen and the UNESCO World Heritage fjord space together with Geiranger.
Norway’s minister of commerce and trade Jan Christian Vestre made the announcement on a go to to Svolvær final week. Talking on the idea of a vacationer tax, he stated that Lofoten “is a area that has wished it for a very long time, labored for it, been artistic and give you good proposals.”
Why Lofoten needs a vacationer tax
The mountains, seashores and charming fishing villages of Lofoten is a area beloved by Norwegian vacationers. However over the previous 20 years, the variety of worldwide guests has skyrocketed, thanks partially to eye-catching photos from mountaineering trails shared on social media.
Whereas there have been enhancements made to mountaineering trails in recent times, the infrastructure of Lofoten struggles to deal with the expectations of worldwide guests. Specifically, parking and restroom services are few and much between exterior the handful of small cities.
This has led to elevated experiences of litter and faeces being discovered on well-liked trails, whereas wild tenting and elevated footfall is taking its toll on some mountain areas.
Henningsvær in Norway’s Lofoten Islands is an enormous vacationer draw however can get swamped with guests in … [+]
Whereas many individuals go to Lofoten, comparatively few folks reside completely on the islands. This ends in a transparent disparity between the budgets of the native municipalities that make up Lofoten and the spending required to enhance vacationer infrastructure. It’s the same drawback in different areas the federal government has recognized as potential vacationer tax areas like Geiranger and Beitostølen.
Line Samuelsen, head of tourism at Vacation spot Lofoten, stated she “virtually had tears in her eyes” following the announcement.
“Most individuals see {that a} area with 24,500 residents can not foot the invoice for a number of hundred thousand vacationers. For a number of years, we’ve been advocating for public providers within the area to be financed by guests. We’re trying ahead to getting began on this,” she advised NRK.
An extra tax on an already costly place
Nevertheless, one thing that already makes potential guests to Lofoten pause is the excessive costs. Travel to the islands requires costly flights, automotive rental, or a sophisticated mixture of trains and ferries. Lodging costs soar all through the summer season season as a result of excessive demand.
May a vacationer tax on high of the already costly location delay extra folks from visiting the islands?
The Norwegian Hospitality Affiliation (NHO Reiseliv) has been among the many loudest vital voices of the proposals. They assume it’s already costly sufficient for overseas guests to trip in Norway.
Native tour operators are additionally not as eager on the thought. Lofoten Explorer’s Gunnar Skjeseth has labored within the Lofoten journey trade for 25 years. He advised TV2 that there are “divided opinions” in Lofoten. He personally believes cash for the required vacationer services ought to be allotted from the state finances.
The precise methodology of assortment of the tax—or a ‘customer contribution’ as the federal government has termed it—is but to be determined, though automobile registration scanning expertise has been instructed as a substitute for an lodging levy.
