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© cc-foto: Rick McCharles
Norway is struggling with a steady migration of fortune seekers from the south. No (economic) refugees, but pure fortune seekers who disrupt the lives of the inhabitants. It concerns – mostly Western European – tourists who travel through the country in campers. The country has never experienced such an invasion of camper vans before. Citizens complain bitterly because the campers make the roads unsafe, block the passage and parasitize the facilities, the Norwegian news site reports News in English.
In Aftenposten, the country’s largest newspaper, the campers are compared to snails that move slowly with their homes on their backs, leaving a trail of slime on the narrow roads in the mountains and along the fjords. “Then they sneak into our cities and towns hunting for a free parking space to spend the night. (…) They are really getting annoying.”
The campers are seen as parasitic because they hardly contribute to the economy and only use – free – facilities. The campers are equipped with kitchens, so restaurants hardly eat and hotels also miss out on income. The holiday vehicle has exploded in popularity throughout the pandemic. Motorhomes are also dominant on the roads in other parts of Europe, but Northern Europe is extra popular because of the climate crisis that drives holiday seekers to the north with heat, drought and forest fires. But because of inflation and the war in Ukraine, more and more Norwegians are opting for a holiday in their own country with a camper.
Norway’s infrastructure is not designed for the motorhome flow. There are too few waste facilities and public toilets, which makes the pollution of public space even worse.
A major concern for Norwegians is road safety. The campers are especially dangerous for cyclists, the climate-friendly means of transport that had just begun to gain popularity. On the Lofoten, a popular island group, the situation is now so unlivable that a company that provides cycling routes has stopped. “I don’t want to be nervous all the time about the possibility of my customers being run over,” the owner told public broadcaster NRK. “If I see that my guests are afraid, I can no longer sell my trips as a good product.” In practice, not all motorhome owners have sufficient driving skills, which can lead to dangerous situations.
Politics is also starting to stir. The holiday migrants appear to tip each other via apps and online services about free parking facilities in cities, for example at shopping centres, so that they fill up. But to the annoyance of residents, camping is also done at cemeteries. A large parking lot near Lake Sognsvann near Oslo has grown into a wild campsite filled with campers, barbecues and even tents. The vacationers misbehave and ignore local regulations. The city council is working on the introduction of an overnight ban, after complaints from local residents.
Politicians are calling for the introduction of a tourism tax to ensure that holidaymakers pay for the facilities they benefit from. The tourism industry has so far managed to prevent this through intensive lobbying.
The problem is only likely to get worse in the future. Tourism to Norway will grow “extremely” in the coming years, according to the employers’ organization NHO. Not only the climate crisis this year, but also the chaos at airports such as Schiphol, as a result of poor working conditions for migrant workers, which make the familiar holidays uncertain. Moreover, the northern countries are attractive to towing campers because they are perceived as safe and they still have untouched nature to offer.
At the same time, Norway is unable to cope with the huge flow of tourists. There are not enough Norwegians willing to work in the tourism sector and the country also suffers from a shortage of migrant workers who are sufficiently qualified. Other holiday countries also suffer from these problems.
2023-08-01 11:47:39
#Norway #overrun #fortune #seekers #campers #residents #demand #measures #Joop #BNNVARA
