As of 2019, Norway ranks 22nd in the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
's
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
The ''Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report'' was first published in 2007 by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The 2007 report covered 124 major and emerging economies. The 2008 report covered 130 countries, the 2009 report expanded to 133 count ...
.
Tourism in Norway contributed to 4.2% of the
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
as reported in 2018.
Every seven in a hundred people throughout the country work in the
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
industry.
Tourism is
seasonal
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
in Norway, with more than half of total tourists visiting between the months of May and August.
Attractions
The main attractions of Norway are the varied landscapes that extend across the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
. It is famous for its fjord-indented coastline and its mountains, ski resorts, lakes and woods. Popular tourist destinations in Norway include
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Ålesund
Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...
,
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
,
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
and
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
. Much of the nature of Norway remains unspoiled, and thus attracts numerous hikers and skiers. The fjords, mountains and waterfalls in
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Northern Norway
Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...
attract several hundred thousand foreign tourists each year. In the cities, cultural idiosyncrasies such as the
Holmenkollen ski jump
Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 70,000 spectators. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 18 ...
attract many visitors, as well as science abilities and cultural learnings and things such as
Bryggen
Bryggen (''the dock''), also known as Tyskebryggen (, ''the German dock''), is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of Bergen, Norway. Bryggen has been on the UNESCO
...
in Bergen and the
Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, and they do not know about it.
The culture of Norway evolved as a result of its sparse population, harsh climate, and relative isolation from the rest of Europe. It is therefore distinct from other countries in Europe in that it has fewer opulent palaces and castles, smaller agricultural areas, and longer travel distances. Regionally distinct architecture, crafts, and art are presented in the various folk museums, typically based on an ethnological perspective.
Norsk Folkemuseum
Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large open- ...
at
Bygdøy
Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy belongs to the borough of Frogner; historically Bygdøy was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948.
Bygdøy is a popular ...
in Oslo is the largest of these.
Weather
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
is often associated with weather similar to
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
or
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, primarily because the country runs along the same
latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
as them. In reality, while it is often cold in Norway, the weather is often milder than expected, due to the
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...
and warm air currents. The winters are typically bitterly cold with the accompaniment of snow and summers are mild with little to no
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
.
Transport
![Bryggen (6-2007)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Bryggen_%286-2007%29.jpg)
The Norwegian highway system covers more than 90,000 kilometres, of which about 67,000 are paved. The highway system includes ferry transit across waterways, numerous bridges and tunnels, and several mountain passes. Some of these mountain passes are closed during the winter months, and some may close during winter storms. With the opening of the
Oresund Bridge and the
Great Belt Fixed Link
The Great Belt Bridge ( da, Storebæltsbroen) or Great Belt fixed link ( da, Storebæltsforbindelsen) is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt strait between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension ...
, Norway is connected to the European continent by a continuous highway connection through
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
The 4,058 kilometres long rail network connects most of the major cities south of
Bodø
Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
. The
Norwegian rail network is also connected to the Swedish network.
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...
is the most important airport in Norway, with 24 million passengers in 2014. Most cities and towns have nearby airports, and some of the largest also have international flights. The cruise ferry
Hurtigruten
''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...
connects the cities on the coast between Bergen and
Kirkenes
Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...
. In the summer, the coastal cities are visited by numerous foreign cruise ships, Bergen being the main cruise port.
Arrivals by country
In 2015, 8,828,771 foreign tourists visited Norway, an 8.3% increase over the previous year's figure of 8,154,436.
The top ten countries of origin of tourists visiting Norway were:
Most visited tourist attractions
Innovation Norway, a state-owned promotion company which is also in charge of tourism affairs, makes annual reports on the country's most visited tourist attractions, both cultural and natural. The 2007 report lists 50 cultural and 20 natural attractions.
Tourism exhibitions
In January 2009, the
National Building Museum
The National Building Museum is located at 401 F Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning". It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private Non-profit org ...
presented the exhibition ''Detour: Architecture and Design along 18 National Tourist Routes in Norway''.
The exhibition, which was created in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy, was available for view until May 2009.
See also
*
National Tourist Routes in Norway
National Tourist Routes ( no, Nasjonale turistveger) are eighteen highways in Norway designated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for their picturesque scenery and tourist-friendly infrastructure, such as rest stops and viewpoints. The ...
*
World Heritage Sites in Norway
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to the UNES ...
*
Norwegian Mountain Touring Association
The Norwegian Trekking Association ( no, Den norske turistforening, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism i ...
*
List of museums in Norway
This is a list of museums in Norway.
By County
Akershus
*Eidsvollsbygningen
* Henie-Onstad Art Centre
*Kjeller Airport
*Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection
*Oscarsborg Fortress
* Urskog–Høland Line
Aust-Agder
* Lillesand Town- and ...
*
Scandinavian Mountains Airport
A Scandinavian is a resident of Scandinavia or something associated with the region, including:
Culture
* Scandinavianism, political and cultural movement
* Scandinavian design, a design movement of the 1950s
* Scandinavian folklore
* Scandinavi ...
The Official Tourist Board for Northern Norway*
Tourism in Denmark
Tourism in Denmark is a growing industry and a major economic contributor: tourists spent a total of DKK 128 billion and the tourism industry employed 161,999 people in full time positions in 2017.
In 2018, tourists from Denmark's neighboring ...
*
Tourism in Finland
Finland attracted over 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2018, with 53 percent coming from other European Union states. In 2017, the value added by tourism was about 4.6 billion euros, or 2.6% of the Finnish GDP, providing approximately 140,200 jo ...
*
Tourism in Sweden
Tourism in Sweden comprised a relatively small part of the Swedish economy in 2011 at 2.9% of the country's GDP; at this time, tourism generated 264 billion Swedish krona, 98.8 billion of which was foreign-visitor expenditure in Sweden. 7.1% of ...
References
External links
VisitNorway.com
{{Tourism in Europe
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...