Gas prices shock tourists

Gas prices shock tourists
Gasoline prices are high all over the world, and motorists are complaining, but few countries are demanding such high prices as Norway. It's worst up north, where both Norwegian and foreign tourists alike are stunned by the price at the pump"This is crazy," exclaimed one Norwegian tourist after being charged NOK 12.14 per liter at a gas station in Kjøllefjord in Finnmark. That amounts to about USD 7.40 per gallon."This is even more expensive than at home," German tourist Tobias Humle told newspaper VG over the weekend. "We hadn't expected that it would be like this in a country that produces so much oil as Norway."The explanation lies mostly in the punitive taxes Norway puts on gasoline, to discourage consumption. That, coming on top of the generally high oil prices worldwide, has sent local pump prices up all over the country.Humle and his traveling companion Kristin Hesse had planned to spend three weeks driving around Norway. Now they're not so sure. "We'll see whether we have enough in our travel budget to pay for the gas," Hesse said.The high pump prices mean it can cost around USD 70 to fill the average tank. With few multiple-lane highways in Norway, where steady-speed driving is most gas-efficient, motorists face filling up the tank fairly often when traveling long-distance.Prices around the Oslo area are often lower than elsewhere in the country, currently between NOK 10 and 11. Analysts, however, have said gas prices in Norway could exceed NOK 13 by the end of the summer.
Kilde:Aftenposten