Lögberg-Heimskringla


Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.11.1980, Qupperneq 2

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.11.1980, Qupperneq 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.

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