TURIZM.RU continues to introduce its readers to events in the sphere of tourism and travel that took place almost two decades ago. We dedicate our next excursion into history to the date of November 26, 2000.
On this day, the longest tunnel at that time opened in Norway, which made it possible to abandon the use of mountain roads between the capital Oslo and the second largest city in the country, Bergen. The tunnel was 24.5 kilometers long, and up to 1,000 cars could travel through it per day. Today, the longest tunnel is located in Switzerland. It connects Ørstefald and Bodio and stretches for 57 kilometers.
Another piece of news from November 26, 2000 came from Kazakhstan. Local authorities reported a decrease in tourist flow to the country. According to experts, the number of tourists visiting Kazakhstan decreased by 10% compared to the previous year. Thus, Almaty received 6,000 fewer foreign guests. But the residents of Kazakhstan themselves began to travel much more actively. More than 310,000 people visited 80 countries of the world. Most often, they went to China - 16%, to the Emirates - 11%, to Germany and to the Kyrgyz Issyk-Kul - 6% each. After 18 years, the tourist flow to Kazakhstan has grown significantly. In the first half of 2018, the number of guests from abroad amounted to 2.3 million. The outbound tourist flow also reached its maximum figure over the past three years: from January to July, the number of travelers from Kazakhstan reached 2.3 million.
The Saudi Arabian government officially declared 18 years ago that any non-Muslim, regardless of citizenship, would be deported from the country or fired from their job if they ate, drank alcohol or smoked “in public” during the month of Ramadan. Recall that during this time between sunrise and sunset, Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex.
The press service of the Bulgarian Embassy in Russia announced on this day that the country would join the Schengen Agreement within six months. This decision meant the abolition of visas for Bulgarian citizens in the Schengen area. Bulgaria joined the EU only in 2007. However, the passport and visa regime with other Union states was not abolished in the country. Five years later, the Bulgarian government allowed entry to tourists with an open Schengen visa. Crossing the borders with Schengen countries with a Bulgarian national visa is prohibited. This document also allows stay in Romania, Croatia and Cyprus.
Read about the events that took place in world tourism in the early 2000s in our daily selection, which is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the TURIZM.RU website.
Source: news.turizm.ru
