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Visitor numbers drop at Preikestolen

Kredittgjeld? This will save you thousands FORSAND (Dagbladet): In the year was expected besøksrekord at the iconic pulpit rock on the north side of the Lysefj

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Visitor numbers drop at Preikestolen
Kredittgjeld? This will save you thousands FORSAND (Dagbladet): In the year was expected besøksrekord at the iconic pulpit rock on the north side of the Lysefjord in Rogaland. Instead of plunging visitor numbers at one of Norway's biggest nature-based tourist destination.

In July 2019 had Preikestolen, a record number of visitors. Then went all the 105 700 tourists up to the famous mountain plateau.

The first twelve days of July 23 396 people visited the tourist attraction, as against 36 623 in the year.

tourist magnet: Norwegians travel to Preikestolen in all kinds of weather, but the absence of foreigners has halved the visit. Photo: Lars Eivind Bones / Dagbladet. Show more the Numbers plunging

There has been much quieter than normal. Normally we have high season now with 4000-5000 people each day. Now, there are 2000-3000 people here every day so it is very different, " says Helge Kjellevold, managing director at Stiftelsen Preikestolen, to Dagbladet.

He is pleased that the visitors so far in July is far higher than what it was in June. And godværsdagene seem to draw enough Norwegian tourists that it can occur kaostilstander. Wednesday beat the weather forecasts and made sure it was over a mile long line, when the parking lot at the turistmagneten was full.

June was still a letdown. When visited in less than 23 000 people, the pulpit rock, compared with just under 60 000 in the last year.

pulpit rock: Helge Kjellevold is the chief executive of the Foundation, the pulpit rock, and tells us that there are noticeably less tourists in Forsand in years. Photo: Lars Eivind Bones / Dagbladet. Show more - Noticeably less people

Kjellevold think it is natural that there has been a rise in July compared with June-the month.

Queues up to Preikestolen: - Smertegrensa is reached

- It hangs together with during the prime holiday season. That almost 3000 people visit us every day, we will be very happy with, but there are noticeably less people this year, " he continues.

Coronapandemien have put a stop to most foreign tourists, and now is the most norwegians and danes that goes up to the the popular mountain plateau.

Turn On the LydErrorAllerede plus customer? Log into herError pulpit rock: Dare you peek over the edge of one of Norway's most popular tourist destination? Show more - a Lot of danes

It has been very a lot of foreigners who live in Norway, and that did not come home after the closure. A few weeks ago also began the danes to come, and now there are a lot of danes here, " says Kjellevold to the Newspaper.

- Have you had to expel some tourists?

- We have no way to expel, and must rely on the people to take own responsibility, and that there is control on the borders. But we have not been in the middle of the problem either, and we have asked some people that have been dropped, and it turns out that they live here, the answer Kjellevold.

- A wet affair POPULAR: Usually feeds tourists to the pulpit rock on the Lysefjord, but in the years they missed. Photo: Paul Kleiven / NTB Scanpix. Show more

Tourists from all over the world have thus missed on the starting point, this rainy julidagen.

It was a wet affair, points out one of the norwegians that everything in the 11-time is on the way down from the mountain.

One of them who have not yet started the climb up to Preikestolen is Danish Carl Henrik Elkjer. This year the choice fell on Norway as a holiday destination.

I'm holidaying in Norway. You can go south, but Norway opened the first, says the dane to the Newspaper.

DANISH: Carl Henrik Elkjer vacationing in years in Norway, and has this julidagen taken the trip to the pulpit rock.Photo: Lars Eivind Bones / Dagbladet. Show more

He justifies the choice that he feels safe in Norway.

- We feel that you fit well on, for example, when you eat so it is a good distance, " he continues.

Danish on Norgesferie

Elkjer took the ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark to Kristiansand for the weekend, and has posted turistmagneten the pulpit rock as one of their stops on the Norgesferien.

- Here is the nice nature. We love nature, and walking tours, says he.

- All the tourists ask about the same three places

the Dane chose, admittedly, a gray and rainy morning to visit the pulpit rock on, and says that it was it that would fit into the itinerary.

- What kind of expectation do you have on top?

- A lot of people, responds to the Danish tourist while he laughs.

Norwegians are weather-dependent

the Chief executive Kjellevold tells us that the foreign tourists are not as weather-dependent as norwegians.

- What is typical is that the arriving travelers to Norway have set aside a time, and come regardless of the weather, also is it the norwegians who are planning, " he explains.

It turned out on Wednesday when it was several kilometers long queues to get into the parking lot at Preikestolen, and the police had to step in.

Also last year was the Danish Elkjer on Norgesferie, but the time on the cruise. The plan for this summer was actually to visit his son in Australia, but it was so not.

- We should have been there, but there comes, we are not, " he continues.

NORWEGIAN: In the year, it is mainly norwegians and danes who take the trip to the pulpit rock. Photo: Lars Eivind Bones / Dagbladet. Show more Waiting foreigners

Now the government has given the green light to a number of european citizens can travel to Norway up to 29. July, although they don't encourage people to do it. Also on the Preikestolen, they expect to see more foreign tourists to come.

- We expect to see the germans and the Dutch. It is that they open the borders to do enough that the season will be able to continue with a certain level, also for the Norwegian during the prime holiday season, " says general manager Kjellevold.

He believes the foundation will receive a inntektssvikt of around 7 million as a result of the pandemic, but think the proportion of visitors come to take up in both august and september.

Turn On the LydErrorAllerede plus customer? Log into herError RA: Marianne Sandvik, together with his family, found himself in a small snekke out on the fjord when the landslide came against them. Photo: Private Show more Get rescue missions

last year there were a record number of rescue missions on the pulpit rock, but this year the situation is completely different. Norwegian people's Aid, which has the responsibility for redningsaksjonene on the pulpit rock, have had four or five actions in the year, most of which have been in June and July.

It confirms Anne Olsen, manager of the Norwegian people's Aid at Strand and Forsand, to the Newspaper. In comparison, assisted the Norwegian people's Aid on the whole 74 the rescue operations in the area around the mountain plateau up to 8. July of last year.

Rejects almost 100 tourists every day,

- There is a big decline. The reason is probably that in the years is a lot of confident hikers norwegians with better footwear, and very little foreign tourists, " says Olsen to the Newspaper.

She tells us that this year's performances have been pasientoppdrag, and not leteaksjoner.

We assist people down from the mountain that have injured themselves or become sick. Most often, there is a bone fracture, and there has not been any damage out of the ordinary in years, she elaborates.

RESCUE: In the years there have been very few rescue operations on the popular trip. Photo: Lars Eivind Bones / Dagbladet. Show more - Not overvurder yourself

Also the managing director Kjellevold confirms that there has been little rescue operations in years.

Usually we have people from all over the world, and many of them would think has not been off the pavement before them come here, so in the years, it has been very quiet on that front, he says to Dagbladet, adding that the actions most often due to sprains, fractures, or that people are getting problems with your health.

Here, hold the breath

If you are one of those who think to visit turistmagneten later in the summer, have Olsen in the Norwegian people's Aid an advice to you:

- Not overvurder yourself. Don't post on a trip you do not have the physical abilities or the equipment to cope, she urges.

She is not, however, concerned that the proportion of missions is going to increase if more foreign tourists take the pulpit rock later in the summer.

"We're ready to tackle everything regardless of what comes," she concludes.

Turistplagene that is ravaging Norway Dagbladet Plus

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