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Short about the conference

Love Utvikling invites international friends to our conference on tourism management. Lofoten has recently experienced both the blessings and challenges of tourism and has developed extensive work from communities and tourism actors in developing tourism management. Often, tourism management in Lofoten is done by local communities and local enthusiasts. Due to these challenges, the local communities and actors have developed expertise that can be shared internationally, but we are also in need of insights from places finding new solutions to tourism management.

We therefore hope that many of our friends throughout Europe will be able to visit our remote spot in the north of Norway.

The conference will be held 2nd to 3rd of September at Meieriet Kultursenter

Short information about Lofoten Islands

Lofoten is an archipelago in Northern Norway. The archipelago is home to the world's biggest seasonal cod fishing, which also brought Europe the oldest commercial export we know of: Stockfish. The archipelago is also one of the most productive agricultural areas in the entire Arctic, with many small farms utilizing the flat spots between the mountains.

Lately, the Lofoten Islands have become famous for their landscapes, with mountains diving straight into the blue sea. This has developed the archipelago into one of the most popular tourist destinations in Norway, with most visitors coming for active holidays, including surfing, hiking, viewing the northern lights, or climbing.

Additionally, Lofoten has a rich food production, offering many culinary experiences.

Høstvekka festival

The conference is scheduled at the start of the Høstvekka Festival. Høstvekka means "Autumn Week" or "Harvest Week" depending on the interpretation. The festival is one of the biggest in the region, attracting thousands of people on the final weekend. The festival started 30 years ago and has recently undergone a transformation in the attempt to become the most important arena for social debate in Northern Norway. In addition to that, there are many events throughout the festival, culminating in the country music festival, which you'll know is happening by the sight of hundreds of people wearing cowboy hats everywhere in town. If you have the chance, we highly recommend staying for the festival. Even if you don't attend the actual festival, the town will be lively that weekend. And do not forget your cowboy hat.

The programme for Høstvekka is not published yet, but if you are curious about the country music festival, you can use modern apps to translate the programme, which you can find here.

Adventures in the weekend

As the conference is on a Monday, many of you might be interested in arriving over the weekend. Our team will therefore arrange fun activities the weekend before. However, these activities will not be part of the official programme, and due to the uncertainty of the number of visitors and changing weather, we will plan this on short notice. If you are there you are of course welcome to join us. 

Information about travels

The end of the main road in Lofoten is often referred to as "the end of the world." Traveling to the end of the world can be rather complex. However, with our four airports in the islands, you would seldom find a more accessible arctic destination. If you decide to fly, it's all about arriving at the right airport, and you will land a few hundred meters from the town center and the conference venue. We will here provide information about various travel options, including more climate-friendly ways.

The regular travel: The normal way of traveling is by plane. (Also called the buses of the north.) From Oslo, there are connections in Bodø to bring you to Leknes Airport. You will find tickets at sas.no, wideroe.no, and norwegian.no.

The cheaper way: Another, cheaper option is to travel from Oslo to Harstad/Narvik Airport and take the bus from Harstad/Narvik Airport to Leknes Bus Station, but be aware that the buses are not frequent and take about 5 hours. You will find flight tickets at sas.no or norwegian.no and the bus schedule can be checked at reisnordland.no or via the app with the same name.

Direct from Europe: Harstad/Narvik Airport is a hub for people traveling to the Lofoten Islands, and there are direct flights to this airport from Frankfurt, Palma, Zurich, and Paris. These flights are not regular though. Be aware that further travel might be a bit complicated through public transport, but you will find information at reisnordland.no or the app.

The Finnish Corridor: From Finland, it is possible to arrive at Bodø Airport from Helsinki daily. If you choose this route, you either need to buy tickets for the propeller flight of Widerøe (wideroe.no) to Leknes Airport or you can go to Stamsund with the coastal liners (havila.no or hurtigruten.no). If you are lucky, one of Havila's electric boats will take you without emissions or noise over the Vestfjord, leaving at 15.00. From Stamsund there is bus connection to Leknes that takes about 15 minutes.

Green corridor through Norway: If you want to travel more environmentally friendly, you can take a train to Bodø (vy.no) and take the coastal route from there at 15.00 (havila.no or hurtigruten.no). Be aware that this route takes over a day of traveling from Oslo.

Green corridor through Sweden: You can reach Lofoten by train from several places in Sweden, including Stockholm. Tickets can be purchased at Vy.no. Upon arriving in Narvik, you would need to take a bus to Leknes (check reisnordland.no).

Cars: Let's not forget that it is also possible to arrive by car. This gives you the flexibility to explore our region, which is larger than most people think. Lofoten is connected to the mainland via Narvik. If you arrive in Bodø, you can reach Lofoten by ferries. The alternatives are to arrive at Moskenes via Bodø or to Svolvær via Skutvik. Both harbors are about an hour from Leknes.

Important: We recommend booking tickets for the conference early, as the conference is still in the early stage of the shoulder season, and especially the flight tickets might get booked out.

If this seems a bit overwhelming, you are welcome to contact us via email at ingridmarie@loveutvikling.no or orjan@loveutvikling.no so that we can overwhelm you a bit more.

Information about accommodation

Although Lofoten has many places to stay overnight, Leknes is not a typical part of the tourist path and has limited accommodation capacity. There are places to stay in Leknes city center:

• The Scandic Leknes Lofoten Hotel is a small hotel only a few hundred meters from the conference venue. Scandic Leknes Lofoten Hotel is one of our partners.

• Lofoten Overnatting is (as we say in Norway) just a stone's throw from the conference venue and has a few rooms available.

We recommend exploring accommodation options in the beautiful fishing village of Ballstad. The village is well connected by bus to Leknes, and you can find the bus schedule at reisnordland.no. If you have some waiting time in Leknes, we recommend the coffee bar Huset Cafe. Ballstad offers several options, and we recommend Sjøstrand Rorbuer, Solsiden Rorbuer, Hemmingodden Lodge, and Kræmmervika Havn.

Be aware that accommodation can easily be booked out at this time, so do not wait too long.