Accommodation
Longyearbyen is the world's most northern easily accessible settlement, with Svalbard Airport just outside town offering regular flights to and from Tromsø and Oslo, Norway.
Most tourists to Longyearbyen arrive during spring and summer. Spring is very popular since Spitsbergen is one of the few places in Norway where a snowmobile can be driven in open country without special permission. However, due to strict environmental laws not all of the main island of Spitsbergen is accessible. From February until November several tour operators provide a wide range of guided trips.
Longyearbyen The airport served 120,000 passengers in 2007. It is also the northernmost town over 1000 inhabitants; it houses a large number of northernmost places and objects of interest: the northernmost church, university campus, Rotary club, bank, automated teller machine, hospital, kindergarten, public library, night club, pub, school, supermarket, tourist office, permanent airport with scheduled flights, bus station, commercial sea port, taxi station, art gallery, cinema, climbing wall, squash court, swimming hall, and indoor target range.
Longyearbyen is the seat of local government and Norway’s main administrative centre on Svalbard. The small colourful community of approx. 1800 inhabitants has developed from being a typical mining company town into a modern community with different kinds of business and industry and with a wide range of cultural activities and opportunities. In general, the population of Longyearbyen is rather young, families with many small children.
Leisure and cultural activities abound. Since there are no roads between the settlement areas on Svalbard, snowmobiles and boats are a common means of transportation. Locals are very fond of outdoor activities, as well as taking weekend trips to cabins and huts.
The introduction of a local government on Svalbard has been a matter of current interest for a long time. Effective 2002, an extended form of local democracy was introduced in Longyearbyen based on a self-constructed model adjusted to the local conditions. Simultaneously, the responsibility for social services and government administration was transferred from the Norwegian government to the newly established politically elected body, Longyearbyen Community council.
