The warming Arctic favours tourism around the Norwegian Arctic archipelago: less sea-ice allows for sailings into remote destinations, especially north of Spitsbergen and the Nordaustlandet islands, with thousands of passengers hoping to get a glimpse of polar bears and other Arctic wildlife. About 25 cruise vessels are currently sailing the remote Svalbard archipelago: the number of cruise ships is expected to be near pre-pandemic levels for the season lasting from April til October, with a peak now mid-summer, with an estimate of about 67000 passengers to Longyearbyen in 2023. It looks like the estimates are too high, as each voyage on average is filled to less than 80% of capacity, meaning that it is unlikely to see as many passengers as 2019, the last season before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Read more on Thebarentsobserver.com
