Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
VISIT
NORWAY
.CO.UK
"NORWAY IS EUROPE'S NEW
HOME FOR ALL THINGS ACTIVE"
National Geographic Adventure Magazine
"I HAVE NEVER FELT SO
CLOSE TO NATURE AS THIS"
Arthur 11. Middlesex
A sanctuary of peace and beauty, the Oslo Fjord region is a joy to explore. Its flat terrain m akes it ideal for walking and cycling
throughout those endless sum m er days - no other place in Norway has more sun. The area is sparsely populated so you can
enjoy the tranquillity without anybody disturbing you. You'll discover beautiful towns such a s historic Fredrikstad, spectacular
M o ss and mystical Sarpsborg - each surrounded by charming villages, rolling fields, dramatic forests and breathtaking
beaches - so idyllic and so peaceful.
O s ( o F, o * d t
SNORWAY
0stfold-the Gateway to Norway
| POWERED BY NATURE
www.visitoslofjord.com
| www.visitnorwav.co.uk
This flyer (printed in a British newspaper) is fairly typical of the way that eco- and adventure tourist
destinations are promoted to Western consumers. It implies a seemingly unproblematic correspon-
dence between representation and that which is represented. Potential British tourists are invited to
see themselves paddling, walking or cycling in a sunny, 'sparsely populated', 'tranquil' Oslo fjord
region - where they can, as the borrowed quote tells us, 'get close to nature'. The promise of the
flyer to its readers is clear: step through the representational window to experience, in a visceral,
kinaesthetic, multisensory way, what Norway's outdoors has to offer. Reproduced with permission
from
The Guardian
, 15 May 2011.
Key to these experiences is the belief among tourists that they are encoun-
tering not only the non-human world 'as it really is' but also particularly
special or notable elements and sites whose distinctiveness arises from their
rarity: they're taken to be wonders of Earth history rather than of human
artifice (see
Plate 4.5)
. If you've never been an ecotourist or adventure
traveller yourself, imagine what it might be like to dive all day in the
teeming tropical waters off Palau, to swim with dolphins in Kaikoura, or
to undertake an assisted ascent of K2 in the Himalayas. You'd surely be
