Aurora Borealis in Norway
In recent weeks, the police in the north have arrested more than 20 people for operating illegal northern lights tourism. People in the industry call it cowboy business.
In recent days, the police have fined and banned the use of buses by several operators who have operated illegal tourist activities in Tromsø and Lofoten.
Recently, two companies were fined after inspections in Tromsø and Balsfjord.
“We impose corporate penalties on companies that transport tourists without permits. In this case, there is an initial fine of around 60,000 kroner. In addition, we confiscate the proceeds of the criminal acts.”
This is according to inspector and section head of prosecution at Harstad police station, Ronny André Jørgensen.
The police have also seized the proceeds the actors have received from the criminal acts. They confiscated 65,000 and 105,000 kroner respectively.
A consumption tax has also been imposed on these vehicles, says Jørgensen.
Several drivers have also received smaller fines.
Checks In Troms And Nordland
In recent days, the police and other public inspection agencies have had several inspections in the tourism industry.
More than 20 people have been arrested for illegal northern lights tourism in recent weeks.
The police in Nordland have stopped eight foreign citizens who have been operating without valid permits in Lofoten and Ofoten. They are from Malaysia and China.
The police stopped several foreigners suspected of illegal guiding and transport in Svolvær.
All of them issued fines before the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) made a decision on deportation for two years.
In Troms, the inspections have so far not led to deportation decisions.
But Jørgensen says that they have more people who have been reported, in addition to the companies they recently fined.
More Cowboys
The police inspector will not refer to the illegal northern lights tourism that is now taking place as cowboy conditions.
However, the CEO of Nordnorsk Reiseliv, Trond Øverås, does.
They have seen the trend develop.
“We will probably see more cowboys. An increased volume provides an attraction for others who want to come in and milk the market.”
Tourism Manager Lone Helle in Visit Tromsø shares the opinion.
“There are actors who operate illegally and who do not comply with the Working Environment Act. They dump prices, perhaps at the expense of safety. It also damages the reputation of the industry,” she says.
Lone Helle, Tourism Manager at Visit Tromsø says that due to extreme heat in southern Europe, even more tourists are coming to Tromsø because it is a cooler climate.
She calls for an overview of actors involved in tourism.
She says it does not only apply to foreign actors.
“Since there are no requirements to be allowed to operate, anyone who wants to can come in. They can then offer their activities and services on land and at sea. There is no overview of that.”
Cooperation For More Control
Jørgensen in the Troms police confirms that they also see that there are both foreign and Norwegian actors who are operating illegally.
Earlier this autumn, several of the actors involved in control activities warned that they would closely monitor northern lights tourism.
“We are registering that there are a lot of vehicles around the Tromsø area, engaged in this activity. We see that there are so many that we do not have time to check them all,” says Jørgensen.
But the police inspector in Troms says we are now seeing results from the checks.
“We are completely dependent on several agencies cooperating. We also have reports here from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, which also carries out checks. All good forces are needed.”
Source: NRK (in Norwegian)