Developing New Tourism routes in Coastal Areas

• Main Author: Thor Flognfeldt
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Université des Antilles 2011-08-01
• Series: Études Caribéennes
• Subjects: coastal Route; variations in the use of transport; segmentation; coastal tourism; insularity; tourism
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/5286

For Norwegians the name of our country is based on a route - "the way to the North" - and this was not a built route but using of the coast-line itself. As long as the boats and ships were the main means of travel this coastal way - "Nor-way" - was the main communication basis for most people, and for transport of goods. But even in the interior of the country, water, namely rivers and lakes were the main structures for communication. The lakes were most efficient for transport during the cold winters, by sledges on the frozen surfaces.When new means of transport took over most of the traffic, however, sea, lakes and rivers in many ways became obstacles instead of means of communication (?). This gave the government and others new challenges. In the sailing period up to the end of the eighteen hundreds, boats and harbors were the investment focus and sailors were recruited in every community from the age of 15. This meant that in a remote area at the Arctic Circle there were plenty of people who have been sailing around most of the work and could easily be hosts of visitors.This paper is mostly focusing on "how to market and develop these beautiful coastal areas to travelers using either their own cars, bikes, boats or collective transport". What types of geographical units are suited for marketing and developing such areas and how might local producers of accommodation, food & beverages, crafts, activities and arts be included in such organizations. The main focus will be on the work of organization "Kystriksvegen Reiseliv AS" that have been working with these challenges for closed to two decades. What have their successes and obstacles been and how have they been able to operate a sustainable business on a long coastal route with many car ferries, small islands, fjords and mountains and more than twenty municipalities.