From visitor fees and cruise taxes to a more fundamental principle of resource/environmental rent

We need more targeted guidance in the debate surrounding the cruise tax. There is a need to examine the issue from a comprehensive resource rent perspective for affected destinations, including cruise ships and motorhomes. A resource tax would support local and regional infrastructure development, while also addressing both over- and under-tourism issues, and not least the overall environmental impact.

Unspoiled nature is Norway’s greatest competitive advantage. Yet less and less of it remains in Norwegian hands. The concept of resource rent must be incorporated into the government’s approach to tourism taxation. This applies above all to the transportation sector, often referred to as tourism’s Achilles’ heel.

Above all, this concerns the pollution caused by large cruise ships and their overconsumption of limited resources such as our fjords. They represent a globally scarce resource that generates so-called “super-profits” that are unevenly distributed.

You are invited to a roundtable discussion on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. at the Institute of Marine Research, where Katrina Rønningen of the Ruralis Institute for Rural and Regional Research will open the discussion, and Dr. Peter Haugan from the Institute of Marine Research and Arild Molstad, author and tourism expert, will participate.