- The Arctic will never be a destination for mass tourism
Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson (from left) debated preparing for Arctic tourism growth together with Sven Olof Lindblad (Lindblad Expeditions) and Grímur Sæmundsen (Blue Lagoon). The debate was chaired by Helga Árnadóttir from the Icelandic Travel Industry Association. (Photo: Linda Storholm)
Senior Vice President of Icelandair Group, Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson, prefers quality to quantity when it comes to tourism in the Arctic.
Senior Vice President of Icelandair Group, Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson, prefers quality to quantity when it comes to tourism in the Arctic.
Norwegian version
Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson together with rest of Iceland has witnessed a tourist explosion in the last years:
- Since the Arctic Circle Assembly has been held for the first time four years ago, the number of tourists in Iceland has doubled, says Þorbergsson.
The economy has been turned "upside down"
Icelandair has played a central role in this, Iceland connecting Europe and North America, with an expansive net of flight routes.
The increase in the number of tourists that come to Iceland has been so high that it has turned the country’s economy upside down. It’s no longer fish, metal and energy that are the country’s most important export products, but now it is tourism and aviation.
This is something that the other Arctic states can be inspired by, states Þorbergsson:
- Tourism can play an important role for the economy in the Arctic, in contrast to industry, which is often contentious. Tourism is set up in a way as to give income and opportunities to local communities, who have the possibility to maintain their traditional lifestyle and it opens up a market for selling traditional products in the areas visited by tourists, says Þorbergsson.
It is expensive to travel to the Arctic
One prerequisite to be successful as a tourist destination is authenticity, tourists will see the "real" Arctic and this is a win-win situation for both the people in the Arctic and the tourism industry, states Þorbergsson. But quality and sustainability are essential in the sector.
- The Arctic is not for everybody, so it will never be a region for mass tourism, he reassures those who fear that. The costs for travelling to the north are so high that there is a natural selection of who has the opportunity to go there on vacation.
And selection is also the advice of the Senior Vice President for others who rely on the tourism industry in the north:
- The right marketing geared towards small groups, and educate your people. We need to offer quality to those who visit, he says.