Currently each of the three counties in northern Norway promote each county alone. Last autumn the Norwegian Government granted 5 million EUR, with a demand that the industry is to establish a joint promotion company for northern Norway as a tourist destination. The Government believes that the best way to promote northern Norway as a destination internationally is trough a joint plan for the entire region.
The elected county administrations of Nordland, Troms and Finnmark has agreed to establish a joint promotion plan, as the Government has asked for. However it has taken a long time to reorganize into a joint company. Even if the county administration is positive to the reorganization, not all tourism operators are equally positive. At the same time there is a debate on where to locate the new office.
Some believe that the new company will have little impact in increasing the number of tourists going to northern Norway. It will only increase the expenses.
– We believe it will result in increased administrative expenses, but that’s not where the money is needed. What we need is money to do campaigns in the market, says Inger Perssen who is head of Tourism in Finnmark county to NRK Finnmark
