Life in Norway Show Episode 23: Long-term Longyearbyen resident and tour guide Anna Lena Ekeblad talks adventure tourism in Svalbard on a scenic drive around the settlement.

Full show notes including photos: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode23/

After more than seven years in Norway, I finally ticked off a major item on my bucket list this March by visiting Svalbard. The Arctic archipelago is the farthest north you can get on a scheduled flight – anywhere in the world.

Adventure tourism in Svalbard

Although coal mining still takes place on Svalbard, scientific research and adventure tourism are of growing importance. Because you can't leave Longyearbyen, the main settlement, without a gun and without knowing how to use it, the role of tour guides is an important one.

Swedish citizen Anna Lena Ekeblad has lived in Longyearbyen for a remarkable 24 years. She has worked in tourism for all of that time and today runs her own tour company Barents Expeditions. Her company takes interested visitors on a dream tour of the fjords of Svalbard on multi-day expeditions by boat.

When she invited me for a tour of the landscape immediately surrounding Longyearbyen, I didn't hesitate, and took my recording equipment along for the ride! Enjoy the show, and don't forget to refer to the show notes page for the photos.

Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode23/