The travel guide company Lonely Planet has ranked Norway’s northernmost territory as one of the world’s most exciting travel destinations for 2009.
But Svalbard is also one of the world’s most vulnerable natural environments, so visitors must tread carefully.
Skiing trips on Svalbard require proper equipment. Photo: Synnøve Haga / Svalbard Tourism
Not just polar bears
Most people who know about the archipelago halfway between Norway and the North Pole have also heard about its polar bears. But the experts from Lonely Planet have also been seduced by its dark fjords, exotic mining towns, glaciers, and purest white snow.
All this gives Svalbard a place among what Lonely Planet considers to be the ten must-see regions for 2009.
Svalbard is the only place in Europe where polar bears roam freely. Photo: Giles Breton / Svalbard Tourism
Environmentally sound tourism
Svalbard is one of the most visited areas in the Arctic. Over the last decade, the number of tourists visiting the archipelago has almost doubled. This has left its mark, and various regulations protecting Svalbard’s vulnerable natural environment and cultural heritage from the negative effects of tourism have therefore been introduced.
Svalbard can only continue to be a tourist destination in the years ahead if efforts are made to adapt tourism to the environment.
Svalbard has three to four million nesting seabirds. Photo: Arild Lyssand / The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
A window to climate change
With its unspoiled nature and low levels of local pollution, Svalbard is also a Mecca for polar and climate researchers from all over the world.
The measurements made here reveal climate change that influences people and nature globally. For this reason, Svalbard is a key location for international climate research, as well as for general Arctic research.
In Longyearbyen, there is midnight sun from 20 April to 23 August. Photo: Synnøve Haga / Svalbard Tourism
Third year running
In previous years, too, travel destinations in Norway have appeared on Lonely Planet’s lists, which have been known collectively as Bluelist. Last year, extreme sports week in Voss and Tysfjord’s killer whale safari were among Lonely Planet’s recommendations.
Dogsledding is one of many possible activities on Svalbard. Photo: Pritta Pöyhtäri / Svalbard Tourism
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs