New in Norway

From stylish contemporary hotels to innovative city guiding systems, Norway is flourishing with brand new products for the overseas tourist to experience. Heavy investment in new routes by the two main airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and SAS has made parts of Norway more accessible than ever before and the country is welcoming a higher number of visitors from abroad.

The British market is incredibly important to Norway, bringing in 240,000 visitors in 2006 - the fourth highest after Sweden, Germany and Denmark. This was up 19 per cent on the year before and made up 8 per cent of all holiday trips to Norway. They stayed for an average of 1.8 bed nights. The majority of these travellers (206,000) arrived by plane.

The number of leisure bed nights also increased by 15 per cent but the average duration was down by 5 per cent. This shows more people are travelling to Norway but staying for a shorter time, embracing the popular short break concept.

Norway prides itself on being welcoming and friendly, as well as offering visitors a breathtaking and invigorating experience. In light of this it is perhaps not surprising to know that as many as 59 per cent of British tourists who visited Norway last year, had done so more than three times before.

The fjord region remains ever-popular among British travellers with 40 per cent up on UK bed nights. The British market is now responsible for an impressive 30 per cent of all foreign bed nights.

So what new developments can Norway offer to British tourists? Here are just a few:

Norway’s First Designer Hotel

Norway’s first design hotel, the First Hotel Grims Grenka, will open its doors in Oslo on 1st August. The five-star hotel in Kongens Gate is right in the middle of town, minutes from Akershus Caslte, Karl Johans Gate and the bustling Aker Brygge.

With 42 deluxe rooms and 24 suites, this really will be the ultimate in luxury accommodation. The hotel will boast modernist design and offer spectacular space. Light elements are built into the room’s long, smooth surfaces and complement the bathroom’s use of abundant wood and natural materials. Facilities in the rooms include wireless internet, flat screen tv and maxi bar with cocktail mixer and drinks recipes.

Elsewhere in the hotel, visitors will find Oslo’s most spectacular rooftop lounge, Asian Fusion restaurant, tea and cocktail bar and nightclub.

City Guiding

Visitors to Norway’s two biggest cities, Oslo and Bergen, can now benefit from two new guiding services.

In the capital, Audio Tor has completed the production of an audio guide service of Oslo. It is the first of its kind in the world covering an entire city, offering visitors the opportunity to hear audio information about every major and minor tourist attraction. Visitors can now rent an iPod nano from the tourist information centres, complete with over 60 audio tracks, together with a free map. All of the best restaurants, cafes, cultural events and nature walks are explained in separate 4-5 minute tracks, providing entertainment for visitors during their stay in Oslo.

The audio information combines reportage read by professional voice-over artists, interviews with national heroes, local historians and people with expert knowledge, as well as music and sound effects. Audio Tor has produced a selection of tailor-made tours in and around Oslo, or visitors can create their own tours according to their personal interests.

Over in Bergen, a new hop-on-and-off tour has been started giving visitors the opportunity to see some of the city’s best-known attractions. Stops include the new Science Centre, Old Bergen Museum, Bergen Aquarium and the cruise ship terminals.

Main Tourist Attraction Gets Re-Vamp

One of Western Norway’s most popular tourist attractions, Mount Fløyen in Bergen, is set for a transformation this summer. A large new viewing platform will provide visitors with more space and even more spectacular views of the city. The funicular takes you to the top in around seven minutes, where you will find not only this dramatic view but also lots of opportunity for walking, with several new marked trails. A restaurant, cafeteria, play area and souvenir shop all add to a heightened experience.

New Flights

SAS is also introducing two new Norwegian routes this summer. The first is direct from Gatwick to Ålesund which started on 1st June with two weekly flights. The beautiful Art Nouveau town of Ålesund, situated on the west coast of Norway, is the perfect place to explore the fjord region including the world-heritage-listed Geirangerfjord. The second new flight will be from London City airport to Oslo, launching on 28th August with a double daily service.

Norwegian recently introduced a direct service from London Stansted to Kristiansand. The thrice-weekly route carries passengers direct into the heart of the stunning Sørlandet region, otherwise known as southern Norway.

Further information about Norway can be found at Visitnorway.com/uk.mk