Tourism

In Barcelona, protesters are firing water pistols at tourists and, here in northern Norway, we probably contributed to the same problematic dynamics of inflated housing prices by staying in a lovely Airbnb just outside Harstad. Yet, considering that all industries have their economic and environmental impacts, I would nevertheless say that tourism remains a global net positive, especially if people would spread out a bit more.

Now on our way to Oslo for one day in the Norwegian capital, I am drinking my last Star Alliance cup of black SAS coffee as the airline is leaving for Skyteam at the end of next month. Following this change, I have decided to give up on airline status completely as the costs of renewing simply outweigh the benefits. Instead, I will simply book the cheapest tickets available and, perhaps, use some of the savings for separate lounge access and fast track through American Express. With SAS no longer flying to Kalmar and the family having moved to Gothenburg, my travel patterns going forward will in any case be quite different from in the past and, with SJ soon operating the night train to Kiruna, I can look forward to more trains and less planes in the future.