Should tourists be charged to visit Norway’s Pulpit Rock?
A record number of people flocked to Pulpit Rock in southwest Norway in July, sparking concerns of over tourism. There have been calls to charge tourists to visit the beauty spot, which goes against the public right of access.
In July, just under 100,000 people went to the top of Pulpit Rock in southwest Norway. It marks a record month for the increasingly popular beauty spot.
So far, 230,000 people have hiked to the summit of Pulpit Rock, while an annual record was set last year when 348,000 visited Pulpit Rock, which hangs over the Lysefjord.
Since 2011, the number of annual visitors has more than doubled – 12 years ago, the annual number of visitors was 134,000.
The high increase in visitors has sparked concerns over tourism and how much damage so many visitors do to the local environment.
Chief economist at Sparebank 1 SR-Bank, Kyrre Knudsen, has told public broadcaster NRK that tourists should be charged for the trip up the mountain.
On average, national parks charge visitors around 30 dollars per vehicle.
“One thing is that nature can be destroyed… It goes without saying that if you have to queue all the way and there is pushing, it will destroy (the experience). By charging, you can sort the queue and create better business opportunities. Charging will also make it easier to have full-time employees and get hold of people. You could make a better path and give people a better experience,” he told NRK.
“In the USA, it would cost 10,000 kroner per person to experience the trip”, he said.
Per Morten Haarr, the tourism director for the Stavanger region, has said that Pulpit Rock has yet to reach capacity issues.
“It is sometimes very full at the Pulpit. But we believe the increase is still within what it can withstand,” he said.
He added that Norway should look to maintain its right to public access. Allemannsretten (the right to roam) is protected by the Outdoors Act. It enshrines free us of nature in Norway. It grants free movement on both feet and skis in the countryside and covers the rules for camping and foraging.
Charging tourists to visit beauty spots would, therefore, violate the public’s right of access. Helge Kjellevold, general manager of the Preikestolen Foundation, told NRK that he doesn’t envisage any court choosing to overturn the right to public access.
“Then one has to change the allemannsretten, and none of us think of doing that,” he said.
Harr added that generating income was important but that it should come from value creation surrounding nature experiences and natural attractions and not charging for access.
“We have a tradition in Norway of allemannsretten. It stands strong in Norway. We often look at what they do abroad, but we want the commercial actors to contribute to the value creation around these types of natural attractions. We believe that the value creation should take place with the players (in the tourism industry), rather than us starting to charge (tourists) to go for a walk,” he explained.
One way in which popular destinations will explore raising funds is the introduction of a tourist tax. Norway’s government committed to introducing a tourist tax when it was formed in 2021.
A tourist tax would cover the maintenance and preservation of popular spots. In smaller municipalities in Norway, where a lot of the most famous natural attractions are found, local authorities spend large sums on maintaining natural trails for tourists.
Norway’s tourist tax intends to ensure tourists contribute to upkeep so that municipalities' budgets can be better spent on local services. A number of municipalities have signalled a willingness to participate in a trial scheme.
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In July, just under 100,000 people went to the top of Pulpit Rock in southwest Norway. It marks a record month for the increasingly popular beauty spot.
So far, 230,000 people have hiked to the summit of Pulpit Rock, while an annual record was set last year when 348,000 visited Pulpit Rock, which hangs over the Lysefjord.
Since 2011, the number of annual visitors has more than doubled – 12 years ago, the annual number of visitors was 134,000.
The high increase in visitors has sparked concerns over tourism and how much damage so many visitors do to the local environment.
Chief economist at Sparebank 1 SR-Bank, Kyrre Knudsen, has told public broadcaster NRK that tourists should be charged for the trip up the mountain.
On average, national parks charge visitors around 30 dollars per vehicle.
“One thing is that nature can be destroyed… It goes without saying that if you have to queue all the way and there is pushing, it will destroy (the experience). By charging, you can sort the queue and create better business opportunities. Charging will also make it easier to have full-time employees and get hold of people. You could make a better path and give people a better experience,” he told NRK.
“In the USA, it would cost 10,000 kroner per person to experience the trip”, he said.
Per Morten Haarr, the tourism director for the Stavanger region, has said that Pulpit Rock has yet to reach capacity issues.
“It is sometimes very full at the Pulpit. But we believe the increase is still within what it can withstand,” he said.
He added that Norway should look to maintain its right to public access. Allemannsretten (the right to roam) is protected by the Outdoors Act. It enshrines free us of nature in Norway. It grants free movement on both feet and skis in the countryside and covers the rules for camping and foraging.
Charging tourists to visit beauty spots would, therefore, violate the public’s right of access. Helge Kjellevold, general manager of the Preikestolen Foundation, told NRK that he doesn’t envisage any court choosing to overturn the right to public access.
“Then one has to change the allemannsretten, and none of us think of doing that,” he said.
Harr added that generating income was important but that it should come from value creation surrounding nature experiences and natural attractions and not charging for access.
“We have a tradition in Norway of allemannsretten. It stands strong in Norway. We often look at what they do abroad, but we want the commercial actors to contribute to the value creation around these types of natural attractions. We believe that the value creation should take place with the players (in the tourism industry), rather than us starting to charge (tourists) to go for a walk,” he explained.
One way in which popular destinations will explore raising funds is the introduction of a tourist tax. Norway’s government committed to introducing a tourist tax when it was formed in 2021.
A tourist tax would cover the maintenance and preservation of popular spots. In smaller municipalities in Norway, where a lot of the most famous natural attractions are found, local authorities spend large sums on maintaining natural trails for tourists.
Norway’s tourist tax intends to ensure tourists contribute to upkeep so that municipalities' budgets can be better spent on local services. A number of municipalities have signalled a willingness to participate in a trial scheme.
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