DESTINATIONS SKI & SNOW | NORWAY


TRE OR DE VILLIER UTIVE,


Q. We’re in Voss – tell us a little bit about the resort. A. Voss is one of Norway’s most famous ski resorts. You could also call it the activity centre of Norway – it has very extreme sports in the summer months with skydiving and other hardcore activities. But in winter, it is the west coast’s biggest ski resort. It’s very popular with the residents of Bergen, which is the second largest city in Norway. You can get the train directly from Bergen airport, which takes about an hour and a half, or a transfer by road, which takes roughly the same time.


Q. We’re here with Inghams, which is adding Norway to its programme this year, so how are you supporting that? A. I felt the time was right to have Inghams here – we’ve seen massive growth out of the United Kingdom for Norway, primarily because of snow conditions. The krone is quite weak at the moment so more people have discovered the ‘secret’ of Norway. It’s not that far – only an hour and 45 minutes from Gatwick – so with the growth of the Norway ski market, that strengthened the argument for Inghams to come in to Bergen with a charter flight, which is fantastic. In many of our resorts, the UK is overtaking our Swedish and Danish traffic – now we see 45,000-50,000 Brits a year, which is quite a lot for us.


Q. Is it just about the skiing or are there other draws as well? A. You can’t come to Norway and just ski – we offer so much more,


58 11 SEPTEMBER 2025 “


TREVOR DE VILLIERS CHIEF EXEICH EF EXECUTIVE NOR


NORWAY HOME OF SK ING INTERVIEW BY Lucy Huxley in Norway


Y HOME OF SKIINGI


Guests can go northern lights hunting or see huskies – it’s an all-round winter holiday destination


so we want to make it as easy as possible for people, particularly in this region, to experience the fjords. That’s one of those bucket-list items and it’s just down the road. So in the winter months, we put on transport so customers can go down and experience the fjords for a day. They can also go northern lights hunting or see huskies, so it’s an all-round winter holiday rather than just ski. We get hardcore skiers, but we also get families wanting that winter wonderland experience. For me, it offers so much more than any other country in the world.


Q. Norway has a reputation for being expensive – what does that mean for the quality of hotels and the price of après-ski? A. Norway is one of the richest countries in the world – you’ll see


a lot of people driving round in Teslas – so cash is not a problem in this country, and the standard of accommodation is very high. Price-wise, it’s similar to the rest of Europe despite people’s perceptions of Norway being extortionate. When you buy beers or alcohol in bars, it’s expensive, but if you go down to the wine shops in town, it’s the same price as the UK.


BOOK IT


Inghams soft-launched its Norway programme last season and this year will be the first full season, running from December 21 to April 5, 2026. Flights are from Gatwick to Bergen, with a train transfer to the resorts of Voss, Geilo and Myrkdalen. A seven-night trip staying at Park Hotel Voss on a bed-and-breakfast basis costs from £693 per person, based on two adults sharing, including flights and transfers on January 4, 2026. inghams.co.uk


travelweekly.co.uk


TOP NORWAY TIP Add value with offers including a free Nærøyfjord cruise and Flåm Railway day trip, plus a buy one, get one free deal on lift passes (available for Inghams departures on January 4, 11, 18 and 25, and February 1, 2026)


Q. Are you


looking to bring in more charters from the UK? A. Absolutely – this partnership is with


Inghams out of Gatwick but we could look at Manchester and we are also very seriously eyeing up the Scottish market, because we know the Scots like Norway, so we’d like to have an Edinburgh service. But we’re focusing on the core market at this stage.


TW


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Erik Oestlie


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