A dog sled picked up the first two passengers from Kirkenes Airport on Wednesday morning, taking them on a 45-minute trek through the snow to the nearby Kirkenes Snow Hotel.
"It was a fantastic trip back ," said Ronny Østrem, the hotel's chief executive and the driving force behind the idea. "We met a hudnred reindeer on the way back as we were driving south, and we had he sun right in our nose. It really felt good to get started."
To launch the service, the first of its kind in Norway, the hotel needed to secure the backing of Norway's defence services, the local municipality, and the authority that oversees reindeer in the region.
"Hopefully in a few weeks, we will offer this as an exclusive transfer from the airport, directly to our snow hotel, and it's going to be offered for everyone," Østrem continued.
He said he hoped that the service would encourage more tourists to come to Kirkenes.
The taxi trip will not come cheap, however, with Østrem estimating it will cost some 2300 NOK ($372) at a time.
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