The last year has been a strange one for the tourism industry, and for the human race as a whole. With most of the population has been on lockdown and unable to move freely across the globe, intrepid travellers have been patiently waiting for the right moment to break free of restrictions and to start travelling again. We believe that for most of our guests, the time is now. Sweden’s Covid numbers have flatlined and are holding steady. The Swedish government has officially removed all travel restrictions within the country which gives us the green light to start offering all of our tours in their regular capacity, while following all logical health & safety protocols and social distancing measures.
While there are still a few countries whom are not allowed entry to Sweden, there is a long list of countries who have been approved for entry into Sweden which seems to be growing by the day. Our future guests from the UK and the US are still not able to enter the country, but we are hopeful that this restriction will expire as planned on the 31st of October.
The Lights Over Lapland team has taken advantage of all of the free time we had during the last 19 months to improve upon everything we do in order to maintain our status as the leading aurora outfitter in Abisko and the rest of the Arctic. These improvements include upgrades to our array of webcams, creating new and exciting daytime and evening adventures, developing our health and safety procedures, investing heavily in training for our entire team, recruiting a new generation of aurora photographers/guides and expanding our popular catalogue of VR experiences.
While the list of developments above are all exciting, we can’t help but be particularly excited about the ongoing investments in new technology. We installed a new HD real time aurora webcam last season, and will be installing a brand new still camera that we believe will give us lots of new and exciting ways to share high resolution images of the northern lights dancing in the sky above Abisko National Park with our fans across the planet. Keep an eye on our social media pages as we will be releasing new details about this brand new aurora webcam in the coming weeks!
In addition to our new aurora webcam, we have spent the summer developing several brand new VR experiences, which allow people from all over the planet to feel the excitement a trip to the Arctic. Our new VR tours in Abisko have become so popular that CNN International chose to include Lights Over Lapland in a feature story about companies who are leading the way in VR technology.
Our favourite new VR experience gives you a chance to feel the excitement of riding Sweden’s longest chairlift to the top of Mt. Noulja and taking in all of the scenic beauty of Abisko National Park that can be seen from the Aurora Sky Station. This brand new VR tour is hot off the press, and has just recently been added to our catalogue of exciting VR tours in Abisko National Park. You can see the new VR tour in its entirety here:
In the coming months we will also add some additional experiences to our existing catalogue of VR tours in Abisko National Park Sweden.
Now for the icing on the cake: the 2021/22 aurora season has the potential to be the the first season which will ultimately be part of solar cycle 25’s climb to solar maximum. There is a lot of discussion in the aurora predicting community which implies that solar cycle 25 could potentially be the strongest on record – but you don’t have to take our word for it. Take a look at this exciting article which predicts great things for the upcoming aurora season.
Our final thought is this: If you have been thinking about taking a trip to the Arctic to enjoy the northern lights and all of the other majestic natural wonders which can only be seen in the north, don’t delay. The time to get back to living your life and enjoying all the natural wonders provided mother nature is NOW. When you are ready to travel in the Virtual world, or if you want to see the Arctic in person, Lights Over Lapland is here to help you with every step of your journey.
