One of Nordic Choice's hotels. PHOTO: COURTESY NORDIC CHOICE FACEBOOK PAGE
OSLO: A Norwegian billionaire who made his fortune in the hotel business offered on Tuesday 5,000 nights in his hotel chain to refugees who do not have a spot in asylum centres.
"We are offering 5,000 nights to refugees who need it," Petter Stordalen, who owns the Nordic Choice Hotels chain, wrote on Twitter.
I @Nordic_Choice har vi en kultur for å bidra. Derfor gir vi nå 5000 gratis gjestedøgn til flyktninger som trenger det.
— Petter A. Stordalen (@petterstordalen) September 8, 2015
The migrant drama unfolding in Europe "concerns absolutely everyone," he told Norwegian news agency NTB, adding that he would also cover the meal costs for the refugees who stay in his establishments.
The Norwegian migration board UDI said it would consider Stordalen's offer if its centres were overflowing.
Norway received 2,313 asylum requests in August, most of them from Syrians, Eritreans and Afghans, the highest number registered in a single month since the 1990s.
According to UDI, the number of asylum requests could reach up to 16,000 for the full year of 2015, compared to 11,480 in 2014.
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