A round trip of more than 1,600 miles is the price Arvid Flagestad is willing to pay to learn about winter tourism - in Bradford.

The Norwegian winter sports expert is studying for his doctorate at the University of Bradford. And it has led to a prestigious job helping to advise the United Nations.

Most visits to see his supervisor, Dr Christine Hope, are staged every six weeks or so and mean a stay in Bradford for a few days at a time.

But, from time to time, Mr Flagestad is forced to take an 'away day' which means flying into Manchester Airport, taking a taxi up the M62 and, after a few hours research, returning to Manchester for the last flight back to Oslo in the evening.

The 61-year-old research economist is studying the different attitudes to winter tourism between the United States and Europe. And his conclusion so far is that British winter tour experts know more about skiing than their counterparts in the rest of Europe.

"My Norwegian friends are astonished when I tell them this, but it is true," said Mr Flagestad.

He has found that in America, a small number of large companies control almost all aspects of the winter holiday from accommodation to lift passes. In Europe, by contrast, resorts are dominated by a large number of small companies.

Mr Flagestad was based at Bradford University's Management Centre in Emm Lane for the first six months of his research.

And, he has grown very fond of Yorkshire during his frequent visits.

"There aren't many Norwegians here, but there is a lot in the local environment and dialect that would appeal to them," he said.

There is a huge amount of international interest in the research, he said.

Mr Flagestad was a key speaker at Norway's Winter Tourism Conference in Lillehammer in 1999.

The World Tourism Organisation, which advises the United Nations, has just appointed him as an advisor on its programme of human resource development for specialists in snow and mountain tourism.

It is success which is well deserved, said his personal tutor, Dr Christine Hope.

"Arvid is a diligent and very able student who fully deserves this international recognition," she added.

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