Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Dag Terje Andersen

Norway as a tourist destination

Statement from the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mumbai October the 30 ^th>, 2006

Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here today. This is my first visit to India and I am impressed by what I have seen so far of your beautiful country. For a Norwegian, India is a very interesting and exotic country! Last year about 10 000 Norwegian tourists experienced the diversity and adventures of India. And the interest is growing.

Norway is also a country with a lot to offer. On the plane towards Mumbai on Saturday I read that the National Geographic Traveler had ranked the two Norwegian fjords Geirangerfjorden and Nærøyfjorden, the world’s best travel destination. Both these fjords are prominent on UNESCOs list of world heritage destinations.

The Norwegian government strongly believes in Norway’s qualities as a tourist destination. That is why we have singled out the tourism industry as one of five areas of focus and will launch a national strategy on tourism next year.

Tourism is an area where Norway, like India, has distinct opportunities. Visiting Northern Norway you can experience the Midnight Sun and the Northern Lights. During the summer months of June and July the sun shines all night, never disappearing under the horizon. The Northern Lights is another phenomena you can enjoy north of the Arctic Circle. It is the nature’s own fireworks and provides a display of colours playing in the sky during the dark nights of winter.

Like India, Norway has a long coastline. Travelling along the coast you can experience the fjords of the west coast with mountains rising hundreds of meters straight up from the sea, the diversity of wildlife, charming cities and a fascinating light changing as the day passes. Better still, the coast has some 50 000 islands, as well as numerous fishing villages and farming landscapes providing tourists with sights and sounds.

Norway also offers silence as one of its main features for those who want a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Personally, spending time in the quiet and harmonic nature provides me with renewed energy to deal with the challenges I face on a daily basis.

However, even though the setting often is quiet and the scenery wonderful to watch, some of the really great experiences are related to outdoor activities. In Norway there are possibilities for fishing and hunting. There are also endless opportunities for skiing, hiking and cycling in every part of the country. Daring travellers can face their fears while rafting in the rivers or climbing steep mountain peeks.

Norwegians are very proud of our most prominent cultural personas; the musician Edvard Grieg and the author Henrik Ibsen. And then there is the world famous Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. As you might know the Munch painting “Scream” was recently retrieved after having been stolen quite some time ago. Now you have the opportunity to see it, battered but still in one piece, at the Munch museum in Oslo.

Norway’s second largest city, Bergen, is situated on the west coast. It is famous for its old wharf, Bryggen, with its beautiful old wooden houses. It is a reminder of the town's importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century.

The scenery, culture, cities and the rural life provide tourists with a wide range of adventurous and entertaining experiences in Norway. I hope this brief intervention has given you a taste of what Norway has to offer to the Indian traveller.

Thank you for your attention.