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US tourists plan trips to Disney’s Frozen land

Paul O'Mahony
Paul O'Mahony - [email protected]
US tourists plan trips to Disney’s Frozen land
The stunning Norwegian landscape in Disney's Frozen - The Walt Disney Company

American tourists look set to descend on Norway by the planeload this summer to see with their own eyes the majestic landscape depicted in Disney’s Golden Globe-winning animation, Frozen, which has now taken more than $1 billion in the box office.

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With landscapes inspired by Norway, the film set a new box office record for a debut on the US's Thanksgiving weekend, taking $66.7m in its first weekend. This week it became the 13th biggest grossing movie of all time, as box office receipts surged to $1.05 billion.

And already Norwegian tourism officials are witnessing the effects of the exposure.

“We’ve seen a 350-percent increase in visits to our site from the US,” Innovation Norway’s tourism chief, Per-Arne Tuftin, told public broadcaster NRK.

“A number of our partners have also had big increases on their sites. We will gradually start to see more concrete economic results but this is looking good,” he said.

On its Adventures by Disney website, the movie giant talks up the country’s scenic charms as it sells trips that take in Bergen, Oslo, the fjords, stave churches, trout fishing, river rafting and folk dancing.

“Experience all the beauty and majesty our tour of Norway has to offer as you explore the quaint villages and majestic landscapes that make up this scenic country that served as the inspiration for the animated comedic-adventure, Disney's Frozen,” it says. 

At the height of the tourist season in July and August, the eight-day tours are priced at an eye-watering $6,279 for adults and $5,969 for children. 

“We don’t know exactly what this will mean for Norway yet but Disney says the tours are selling well,” said Tuftin.

The film, which retells the story of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, is set in a world of icy fjords, Norwegian stave churches, traditional costumes, the Northern Lights, gløgg (mulled wine), and even lutefisk.

Disney sent some of its cartoonists to Norway for two weeks to soak in the local sights as they dreamt up the visual world of the film.

Innovation Norway, which runs the Visit Norway site in the US, has paid a large but unspecified sum to Disney as part of a partnership which sees the film used in all marketing material by travel companies arranging trips to Norway. 
 
The film has pride of place on Visit Norway's home page.  

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