Out at sea: The tourism company Seiland Explore’s 16 fishing boats are being used extensively this Easter. Source: NRK, Allan Klo
Every Easter, the population quadruples in the village of Hønsebybotn. Adam and his family have traveled all the way from Vestfold to West Finnmark to fish.
“Now it’s just before the big day here. The Wednesday before Easter, the island will fill up,” says André Larsen, CEO of Seiland Explore.
He says that there are now lights in all the houses in the small village of Hønsebybotn in Hammerfest municipality.
“We usually say that there are 28 of us in the village, and now there are four times as many. It’s a bit funny.”
Larsen says that there are several fishing tourists who come back year after year, and that some even send Christmas gifts.
“It becomes a close relationship with them.”
Five people on a boat. Adam Kupski (far right) and his family spend Easter at sea. Source: NRK, Allan Klo
From south to north
Adam Kupski and his family have visited the island of Seiland several times, this year the family of five made the trip from Holmestrand in Vestfold together with friends.
“We are going to spend some time relaxing with family and friends, and fishing,” says father Adam Kupski.
A few years ago he caught a 37-kilogram cod in the same area. He is hoping for a good catch this year too. The day before, two of the three boats in the group caught fish.
We work a lot together at sea, we try to catch a big cod, saithe, maybe halibut.
Daughter Dominika Kupska says that friends are surprised when she tells us where she will be at Easter.
André Larsen is happy that tourists come back year after year. Source: NRK, Allan Klo
Want to experience the island
The fact that 55 beds are fully booked has not come completely by accident. The tourism industry has, like many others, felt the consequences of both the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
We have had a philosophy that we should be able to manage for a year without income. All the savings went into those two years, he says of the pandemic years.
After the Russian tourists disappeared, Finland has become the most important market for the company.
He explains that the first tourists arrive in March, who often come to Seiland to fish. Larsen is happy that tourists like the Kupski family are also coming back.
“It’s great that they have discovered our island and are visiting us.”
Source: NRK (in Norwegian)