Magne Moen, a tourism entrepreneur with 23 years of experience, said the profession's essence is being lost in political decisions. According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Moen described fixed routes as impossible because guides must follow clear skies, not road signs. He said his company will continue prioritizing guests' chances to see the aurora over map zones.
Trine Risvik at Tromsø Friluftsenter shares these concerns. According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Risvik described fixed routes as risking an assembly-line experience that guests do not want, as they pay for silence and solitude. She said the real problem is the number of external operators who do not pay taxes to the city, not where tours drive.
Safari means traveling to discover nature and animals. We travel where there is clear sky, or where we think there is clear sky. Having a fixed route for driving northern lights simply does not work.
Professional operators currently achieve a 90-95% success rate for northern lights sightings, but Moen warned this will plummet without flexibility. He noted that 99% of visitors come for the aurora. Comparing to Iceland's 'Golden Circle', Moen said those are daytime tours, while northern lights tours operate in darkness, and there is a big difference between large buses and smaller operators.
If we stand at a place with a fixed route, and then it turns out that three miles further east there is clear weather and a 'large hole' where the northern lights are dancing, then we cannot drive there because it is not on the route? This does not work. It will not work.
We will drive where there is clear weather and a chance to see, whether it is in Tromsø municipality or in Indre Troms, whether it is Finland, Ringvassøy or Malangen. It does not matter.
99 percent of those who come here come to see the northern lights. If we are not allowed to show them the places where there is clear sky because we have to drive a fixed route, then the whole thing falls apart. It must be crystal clear. They come here to see the northern lights, and then we as guides must be able to get them to the right places.