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Less foreign tourists to northern Norway

Recent numbers show that foreign tourist have been absent in northern Norway in the first half of 2009. NHO Travel Northern Norway blames it on financial crisis.

Location

The number of foreign tourists has gone down by 17 percent in 2009, compared to 2008. In the northernmost county of Finnmark the reduction is 21.4 percent. This is the equivalent of 30.000 guest days.

– North-Norway has a wide variety of offers for foreign tourist, so I don’t think that is the reason for the declining number of visitors. I believe that financial crisis has made it difficult for many foreigners to travel as far north as North-Norway. We have to continue our international marketing of the region, and then I believe that foreign tourists will come back, says Kåre Hansen in NHO Travel to Norwegian Newspaper Nordlys.