ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the concept of service quality to shed light on the market orientation and product development of Norwegian destination management/marketing organisations compared with international hikers' needs and preferences in order to identify gaps in service delivery. Hiking the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) way should, as argued, involve a bit of hard work, and good efforts are encouraged. The trails represent a good variation in terms of the types of Norwegian trails as represented by the DNT and are quite different in terms of length, physical challenge and degree of facilitation; thus they were found suitable to provide access to a broad spectrum of hikers. Furthermore, the international hikers, logically enough, give high importance to a number of attributes that make it easier for them to manage on their own and that facilitate the experience of the mental benefits.
