National Geographic has crowned Norway’s Geirangerfjorden and Nærøyfjorden as the world’s best managed world heritage site.
01/11/2006 :: National Geographic’s Traveler Magazine has ranked the world’s most-visited world heritage sites according to how well they safeguard the distinctive features that qualified them for UNESCO status. The West Norwegian Fjords topped the list, ahead of destinations such as the Great Wall of China, Egypt’s pyramids, the Victoria Falls in Zambia and the Galapagos Islands.
National Geographic’s Traveler Magazine and the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations teamed up to conduct the “Destination Scorecard” survey, which employed 419 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship.
Norway’s Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy is proud of Norway’s top spot.
“I am very pleased and proud that the West Norwegian fjords have been rated the best managed world heritage site in the world,” she said in a press release.
UNESCO’s World Heritage List consists of places considered to have outstanding universal value, and which are so important that they have to be safeguarded for future generations. The West Norwegian Fjords were Norway’s first natural area to be included on the List, in 2005. Five cultural attractions are already on the list: Bryggen in Bergen, Urnes Stave Church, Alta’s rock art, the old mining town of Røros, and Vegaøyan – the Vega Archipelago.
This is not the first time that Norwegian attractions have topped international “best of” lists. In 2004, National Geographic picked the Norwegian fjords as the world’s best untouched travel destination, while the Lonely Planet named the Hurtigruten coastal route the world’s most beautiful cruise earlier this year. Moreover, The Guardian has ranked Norway’s Atlanterhavsveien as the world’s best road trip.
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs