Svalbard Tourism Administration

A recent review of Svalbard's tourism regulations reveals gaps and conflicting interests.

The tourism industry is not new to Svalbard, having been an attractive cruise destination since the late 19th century. However, the strategic development of the tourism industry on land began in the 1970s and 80s after the opening of Longyearbyen Airport and the restructuring of the coal company and cornerstone company Store Norske.

Since then, Svalbard has experienced a rapid increase in the number of tourists, both on land and by sea. Last year, the number of guest arrivals reached almost 148,000, slightly lower than the record year of 2019, but still almost five times higher than in the early 1990s. The number of cruise passengers has also increased rapidly.

A balancing act?

Tourism development offers several socio-economic opportunities such as local infrastructure development, employment opportunities and sources of income for the local community. However, unlike mainland Norway, nature conservation in Svalbard is usually prioritized over commercial interests and activities such as tourism.

Hear what Trine Krystad from Visit Svalbard has to say about challenges in Svalbard's tourism management in the video below.

Visit Svalbard is one of the partners in the "Sustainable tourism in Svalbard – a Balancing Act" project led by the new Nordland Research Institute. This project will increase our knowledge of how the local tourism industry can create new opportunities as they respond to the ongoing transformative changes of Svalbard's society and environment and contribute to the development of the analytical concepts of transformation and adaptation.

Visit Svalbard is one of the partners in the project "Sustainable tourism in Svalbard – a Balancing Act", led by Nordland Research Institute This project will increase our knowledge of how the local tourism industry can create new opportunities in the face of the extensive changes in climate and society that are taking place in Svalbard.  

Our recently published study has mapped and reviewed tourism-related regulations. The study points to potential conflicts between the policy goals of increased tourism and strict environmental regulations.

The text in this article was written by Nordlandsforskning's Grete Hovelsrud and Julia Olsen and Bjørn Kaltenborn from NINA as an introduction to an article published by High Nort News .