03-03-2025
Could Norway's most popular nature spots soon limit tourist numbers?
Pulpit Rock, or Preikestolen, in western Norway saw 380,000 visitors last year and it is estimated that figure could balloon to 500,000 by the end of the decade.
Stiftelsen Preikestolen, a non-profit established by local authorities and landowners to manage the viewpoint, has said it wants to introduce a cap of 6,000 on the number of daily visitors.
Hanna M. Sverdrup, mayor of Moskenes municipality in northern Norway, where the picturesque Reinebringen is located, has said they have struggled with a growing number of visitors to the beauty spot.
'For us, it's not just single days, but many days with too many people. There is no room to get healthcare personnel up, and there can be challenges with a rescue helicopter in the air and many people on a steep staircase,' she told public broadcaster NRK.
However, any potential visitor caps would infringe on one of Norway's most famous laws, the right to roam.
The right of public access gives people the right to roam, forage and camp out in Norwegian nature with very few limitations – regardless of who owns the land. This right is enshrined in Norway's Outdoor Recreation Act, which dates back to 1957.
Helge Kjellevold, CEO of Stiftelsen Preikestolen, has said that she wants to see the law adapted so they can limit the number of visitors. She has said that attractions should be able to use 'common sense' as the right of public access was established long before tourists travelled to the country in massive numbers.
The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) told NRK that any legislation limiting the public's access to the outdoors would need to be the last resort.
'We believe that we should rather work with other measures that do not challenge the right of public access,' Ingeborg Wessel Finstad, section leader for nature and sustainability at the Norwegian Trekking Association, told NRK.
DNT suggested alternatives such as limiting access to parking spaces to spread footfall across the day or providing alternative trails and paths to visitors.
Meanwhile, Norway's government has said it is fundamentally opposed to restricting the right to public access.
'The right of access is one of the greatest things we have, but there are many possibilities already today. Municipalities can control traffic by limiting the number of parking spaces or setting up buses on the last stretch of the road. We know that these are effective tools,' Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen said.
