Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.11.1980, Side 2

2-WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 21, NÓVEMBER 1980
Icelandic Tourist Office in New York
sparks interest in travel to homeland
by BILL CONNORS
Unnur Kendall Georgsson is an at-
tractive, auburn-haired native of Reyk-
javik whose easy-going manner and
humor belie the intensity she brings to
her job. She's the Director of the Ice-
landic National Tourist Office in New
York, and she's responsible for spark-
ing interest among North Americans in
spending their vacations in The Land
of Fire and Ice.
The task is not a simple one. Iceland
can budget for tourism promotion only
a tiny fraction of the amount lavished
on the New World marketplace by
France, Germany, Great Britain, and
other European countries. In addition,
those countries can field substantial
numbers of sales representatives,
speakers, and promotional people in
the USA and Canada to keep their
countries in the public consciousness.
Mrs. Georgsson must make do with a
decidedly smaller backup force to
assist her in generating vacation traffic
to her homeland.
Mrs. Georgsson was appointed to
her position on Jan. 1, 1980, a date that
may stand as a real turning-point in the
history of Iceland's tourism promotion
on this side of the Atlantic. Besides her
appointment, that date marked the in-
íslendingar vestanhafs færa
Skógræktarfélagi Islands gjöf
S.l. sumar afhenti Jóhannes Þóræar-
son, frá Gimli Manitoba Skógræktar-
félagi Islands peningagjöf að upphæð
365 dollara sem hann hafði safnað
meðal Islendinga hér vestra. Verður
fjármunum þessum varið til fram-
kvæmda í svokölluðum Vestur-Islend-
ingareit á Þingvöllum. Þar var fyrst
plantað á árunum 1949 til 1950 og
síðan hafa þar verið árlegar fram-
kvæmdir, sem að mestu hafa verið
kostaðar af gjafafé frá Vestur-íslend-
ingum,
Gefendur voru að þessu sinni J.B.
Þórðarson Gimli, Adolf Hólm Gimli,
Guðrún Ámason Gimli, Rita Monniy
Gimli, Hr. og frú Sigurðsson Win-
nipeg, Guðmundur Peterson Gimli,
Þjóðræknisdeildin á Gimli, Jóhann
Beck Winnipeg, Þjóðræknisdeildin í
Winnipeg, John Thordarson Winnipeg,
Jóhannes Þórðarson, Gimli,
Manitoba, afhendir gjaldkera Skó-
græktarfélags íslands peningagjöf
frá Vestur-íslendingum.
Frú Sexsmith Vancouver B.C., Dr.
Marteinson Vancouver B.C., Hr. Sam-
son Vancouver B.C., Jóhann K. Erl-
ingsson Vancouver B.C., Helgi Pálsson
Arborg Man., Frú H. Skúlason, Win-
nipeg.
itiation of a vigorous new approach to
the business of selling Iceland here. A
first-ever national advertising and
public relations campaign in the USA
was undertaken, a theme was created
for marketing Iceland ("You Haven't
Seen It All Until You've Seen This
Unspoiled Land"), and the biggest,
most colorful tourism brochure in
Iceland's history was produced to
highlight the tremendous variety of
tours and sightseeing excursions
available. The entire program was but-
tressed by the largest dollar outlay in
the history of Iceland tourism selling in
North America.
Plans for the peak season in 1981 are
still incomplete, but Mrs. Georgsson
expects that the substantial awareness
program launched in 1980 will con-
tinue, or even expand as Iceland seeks
to broaden its market.
The result to date has been the
greatest influx of requests for informa-
tion on Iceland ever, an increase of
some 35 per cent over 1979, for exam-
ple. In addition, many requests disclos-
ed an intent to arrange group visits of
anywhere from several days to a week
or longer. Some respondents said that
as a result of the new communications
campaign they intended to see Iceland
in the course of a stopover, a visit they
had not contemplated earlier.
Much of Mrs. Georgsson's workdays
are spent at travel industry forums
and at public travel shows, where she
talks about Iceland, meets and chats
with prospective visitors, and makes
available an array of sales material and
vacation brochures on her homeland.
At her offices within the Scandinavian
Dórette Egilsson, framkvæmdastjóri The Icelander, Viðskiptavinur skoðar íslenskan fatnað í hinum
önnum kafin við sölustörf. vistlegu húsakynnum The Icelander í Los Angeles.
Nýtt fyrirtæki selur íslenskan
fatnað í Los Angeles
Nýlega birtist í Morgunblaðinu í
Reykjavík frétt frá fréttaritara
blaðsins, Sigurjóni Sighvatssyni, í Los
Angeles. Þar greinir Sigurjón frá
verslun sem nýlega var opnuð þar í
borg og hefur hlotið nafnið THE
ICELANDER. Sigurjóni farast svo orð:
"Flestir kannast sjálfsagt við hjónin
Dorette og Árna Egilsson, sem hafa
verið búsett í Los Angeles undanfarin
10 ár. Hingað til hafa nöfn þeirra
fremur tengst listum og menningar-
málum en viðskiptum. En nú hafa þau
hjónin víkkað út atvinnu- og áhugasvið
sín og hafið verslun með íslenskan
ullarfatnað í Bandaríkjunum.
Starfsemin hófst fyrir u.þ.b. ári
síðan. Fyrirtækið nefnist "The
Icelander" (fslendingurinn) og er um-
boðsaðili fyrir Samband íslenskra sam-
vinnufélaga á ullarvarningi í
Bandaríkjunum.
Fram að þessu hefur starfsemin
gengið vonum framar. Margir mundu
ætla að íslenska ullin væri of heit fyrir
.Kaliforníubúa, en það er það markaðs-
svæði sem The Icelander hefur einbeitt
sér að fyrst og fremst, en svo er ekki.
Séreinkenni ullarinnar og hátískusnið
fatnaðarins, einkum á karlmannapeys-
um og jökkum, fellur vel í kramið hjá
fólki hér vestra. Og þótt fyrirtækið hafi
ekki starfað nenfia þennan stutta tíma,
hafa staarstu og þekktustu stórverslanir
í Bandaríkjunum vöruna þegar á boð-
stólum.
Það er augljóst að fyrirtæki sem þetta
aflar töluverðs gjaldeyris fyrir íslensku
þjóðina. En það er einnig ýmiss annar
óbeinn hagnaður af slíkri starfsemi og
er þar landkynningin sjálfsagt þyngst á
metunum. Flestir sem kaupa þennan
fatnað vita lítið sem ekkert um ísland,
en fatnaðurinn vekur áhuga þeirra og
forvitni um landið og fólkið sem byggir
það. Það má benda á það í þessu sam-
bandi að Dorette sem er framkvæmda-
stjóri fyrirtækisins, notar eingöngu
Islendinga til að kynna og selja vöruna
og tengir það fatnaðinn betur við
þjóðina sem framleiðir hann.
Það hefur stundum viljað brenna við
að íslenskar vörur hafi ekki verið
kynntar sem skyldi erlendis og að þeir
erlendu aðilar sem hafa haft með
markaðsöflun að gera hafi ekki staðið
sig nógu vel í þeim efnum. Það er því
sannarlega gleðiefni þegar aðilar eins
og Dorette og Árni, sem bera hag lands
og þjóðar fyrst og fremst fyrir brjósti,
fara út í slíka starfsemi."
Unnur Kendall Georgsson
Director
Icelandic National Tourist Office
New York, N.Y.
National Tourist Offices at 75 Rocke-
feller Plaza in New York (zip code
10020) she oversees the answering of a
substantial amount of mail requests
daily, takes telephone calls from both
the general public and press, and
keeps the head office in Reykjavik in-
formed of what is happening in the
marketplace. News releases and
features are issued almost weekly.
Recently, Mrs. Georgsson served as
chairman of a sizeable group of Euro-
pean Travel Commission members
who traveled to Atlanta, Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh to spur interest in vaca-
tioning in their member countries next
year. Mrs. Georgsson, as chief of the
group, appeared for interviews on
radio, television and with newspapers,
and was photographed with ranking
local officials, including the Mayor of
Atlanta.
Another aspect of her job is to assure
that Iceland sustains a prominent posi-
tion in activities undertaken by the
Scandinavian National Tourist Offices
in their joint functions. She served as
hostess for a special Icelandic
Woollens Fashion Show & Travel
Showcase at the SNTO a few months
ago, a program she devised and one
which resulted in considerable publici-
ty for Iceland. In November she will
produce another evening reception for
travel agents and editors to foster
wintertime interest in Reykjavik,
Akureyri and other Icelandic points as
offbeat destinations for November-
March vacations.
Mrs. Georgsson was born Unnur
Atladottir in Reykjavik and attended
schools in the capital before journey-
ing to the USA to study music at
Gustavus Adolphus College in St.
Peter, Minnesota, and láter at McPhail
College of Music in Minneapolis.
She met her first husband, Harry
Kendall, during these years and they
married in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He
died in early 1979, leaving her with
two sons, Bobby and Billy, both now in
college in the USA. This September she
was married to a fellow Icelander, Dr.
Sverrir Georgsson, who has a medical
practice on Long Island and in Man-
hattan.
Before assuming directorship of the
Iceland tourism organization in North
America, Mrs. Georgsson had worked
as cultural activities officer at the U.S.
Embassy in Reykjavik, for Pan
American World Airways as a
passenger services representative, and
with Icelandic Airlines in both Iceland
and at John F. Kennedy International
Airport in New York.
Given the enthusiasm Mrs.
Georgsson brings to her work, it seems
clear that the future looks bright for in-
creasing numbers of vacationers selec-
ting The Land of Fire and Ice as their
primary vacation destination in the
years ahead.