Minister of Trade and Industry visits SKREI -

10 July 2026

The day after SKREI had opened its doors, we had the pleasure of having Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth visit.

Together with her, there were employees of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Innovation Norway, Destination Lofoten, the Lofoten Council and some of the mayors from Lofoten.

Departement Director in Museum Nord, Svein I Pedersen, presents SKREI

Project Manager Jens Henrik Andersen talks us through the project of the build of the Otolith.

Proud and happy

It was a proud group of employees from Museum Nord who received the delegation on 1 July. For us, it is great that the Minister of Trade and Industry and all the others in the delegation chose to spend time experiencing and learning about SKREI!

With us in our luggage, we had all the fantastic feedback we received from the guests on our first opening day, 30 June 2026. (The official opening will be made on 19 September 2026, by Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery).

The Minister of Trade and Industry, who has previously served as Minister of Fisheries, also expressed that she was enthusiastic about SKREI. Finally, we have a place where we tell about the cod, its history and its significance. In the conversations we had during the visit, we touched on the importance of many guests gaining insight and knowledge of the history. And that this will lead to more people talking about the fisheries and understanding more about this.

Department dirctor Svein I. Pedersen together with Minister of Trade and Fisheries, Cecilie Myrseth

Head of SKREI Research Center, Jonas Walsøe shares details of the exhibition with Minister of Trade and Fisheries, Cecilie Myrseth

Minister of Trade and Fisheries, Cecilie Myrseth

There is a lot to explore in the exhibition “With the Sea”. CEO of Destination Lofoten, Line Renate Samuelsen, together with Minister of Trade and Fisheries, Cecilie Myrseth

Direcor of Tourism at Innovation Norway, Aase Marthe Johansen Horrigmo, dives into knowledge about ocean research.

Guided tours, conversations and tourism

The delegation was briefed on the entire “SKREI project”, about the work that has been done in advance. About the work to implement the project and the importance of the strong collaboration between Vågan municipality and Museum Nord.

Then there was a guided tour of the exhibition “With the Sea”. Led by the department director at Museum Nord, Dept. Vågan, Svein I. Pedersen. The exhibition covers many interesting topics and is structured so that you as a guest can use many senses. There are sounds, images, touch screens, movies, objects and moods.

SKREI – A destination of experiences and history

SKREI consists of The Otolith, opened on 30 June 2026, the Lofoten Museum, the Lofoten Aquarium and Galleri Espolin. On this visit, there was only time to visit the Otolith and the new exhibition “With the Sea”. The Minister of Trade and Industry and others in the entourage have also visited SKREI before, as well as several of the other arenas in SKREI.

Illustrasjon av Otolitten og SKREI. Illustrasjon: LPO Arkitekter

Museum Nord as a tourism operator

After the tour, Museum Nord had the opportunity to introduce itself. This time with the main focus on our role as a tourism operator. Museum Nord had a total of about 330,000 guests in 2025 at our 21 museums. It gives us considerable opportunities and a great responsibility.

Head of SKREI Research Center, Jonas Walsø, presents Museum Nord and its role in the tourism and hospitality industry together with Museum Nord Communication Manager Hege Anita Eilertsen.

Museum Nord considers itself an active tourism player, in addition to fulfilling the social missions we have been given. In the presentation, insight was given into how we safeguard our role as a tourism operator. Both in relation to being a reliable storyteller while creating good experiences for both locals and visitors. We talked about our relationships with the destination companies and how important these are to us in all three regions of Lofoten, Vesterålen and Ofoten, about marketing and development activities.

Input to the tourism plan

Through the presentation of Museum Nord as a tourism actor, place developer and organization with its heart firmly planted in the local communities. We were also able to provide clear input to the Minister of Trade and Industry’s planned tourism plan.

We thank the Minister of Trade and Industry for the opportunity to present SKREI, Museum Nord, our work. As well as some of our wishes and opportunities in the future.