Oil Economy
(Tourism Industry Sector: Connected Services)

As a country formed of various stones, metals, and minerals, Norway has a long tradition of extracting natural resources. It is—however—the 1969 discovery of oil and gas reserves that has produced Norway's unprecedented wealth. Now amounting to a quarter of the country's GDP, the petroleum industry has been the cornerstone of the Norwegian economy and welfare state for the past few decades. While the petroleum industry is still an essential pillar supporting Norway’s prosperity, it is anticipated that in the near future the country will move beyond the extraction of oil and gas. A new focal point for future economic development is likely the tourism industry, which is a costly transition involving the construction of a vast infrastructure to be able to transport, accommodate, feed, and entertain tourists, and to generally support this new economy. If it were not for Norway’s vast oil wealth, such a targeted change would probably not be possible.

Flights & Sea Level Rise
(Tourism Industry Sector: Transportation)

The idea of remoteness, and the reality of accessibility, form a foundational framework for tourism in Norway, as transportation in a land as big and rugged as this country requires not just a specific set of infrastructures, but also favorable conditions regarding – among others – weather. Nowadays, a network of highways, train tracks, ferry lines, and airports puts the vast majority of the Norwegian land within five kilometers of major infrastructure developments. Even so, an apparent insistence on the use of planes for domestic travel is notable in a country that prides itself on its great reliance on renewable types of electric energy elsewhere. An even greater increase of international air travel in recent years, has contributed to a growth of greenhouse gas emissions by the Norwegian aviation sector of over a hundred percent in the last two decades alone. One can only imagine how the rise of sea water levels as a result of global warming, will impact Norway’s coastline in decades to come.