Reykjavík Grapevine - 31.07.2009, Síða 42

30
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11 — 2009
Laugavegur 24 | 101 Reykjavík | Tel: +354 578 4888
A Very Special
Scandinavian
Welcome
Movin’ On Up
Leisure tourism and last minute trips on the rise
I stopped to interview some
lucky tourists on the street to see
why they chose to visit Iceland.
The following people graciously
complied to dish out the details of
their trip.
Names:
Sandrine and
Benjamin Gateau
Hometown:
Sierck Les Bains,
France
“We are staying
three weeks.
We ŕe going to
have a tour of the
island and we ŕe staying in Reykjavík
for three days. We ŕe here for our
honeymoon.”
Name: Sheetal
Hometown:
London
“We are going
to do a whale
watching tour,
and we ŕe going
to do some horse
riding, and the
Golden circle tour
as well. I v́e always heard lots about it
[Iceland] and my boyfriend wanted to
come as well. It was quite a last minute
trip. We probably booked the flight a
month ago, and it was quite easy.”
Name: Lajos
Buka
Hometown:
Debrecen,
Hungary
“There are four
of us, three of us
are from Hungary,
and one is from
Romania. We
are going to go to Greenland for some
trekking and climbing. We ŕe only
spending one day in Iceland.”
Name: Fanny
Chatelet
Hometown:
Paris, France
“I´ll be here one
week. I´m doing
all the standout
hot points. I´m
here because of
the pure nature
and the landscape.”
Name: Catherine
Dallaire
Hometown:
Moncton, New
Brunswick,
Canada
“It seems like a
really unspoiled
part of the world
that probably
hasn’t seen a tremendous amount of
tourism. There are great opportunities
to see nature that we wouldn’t see at
home, like the fjords and ice fields.”
On any given day in the summer,
walking the streets of Reykjavík can
turn in to an international affair.
Throngs of visiting tourists armed with
travel pamphlets are everywhere, either
with large groups or by themselves.
If it seems like some nationalities are
more prominent than others, well, it ś
because they are.
A rundown on the highest numbers
of nationalities stopping for a look at
Iceland last year shows the top five
being: UK, Germany, Denmark, USA
and Sweden (in order from highest
to lowest). And these nationalities,
along with all the others seeking a
cool refuge in the heat of summer,
help put tourism as one of the top
foreign currency earners. The tourism
industry takes second place only to
fisheries in this category.
But has this lucrative business changed
in the wake of all the economic
problems? Nope. The numbers have
actually stayed the same. However, the
polls taken on the amount of tourists
entering the country also include
migrant workers. According to Maria
Reynisdóttir, Marketing Director at
Visit Reykjavik, although the numbers
remain the same, a lot of changes are
happening with both who is visiting,
and why they are visiting.
MISLEADING NUMBERS,
CHANGING STYLES
“The total number is a bit misleading,
because migrant workers are in that
number. And those numbers have
definitely gone down. And business
tourism, as well, has been decreasing.
But then again, leisure tourism is
definitely on the rise this year, which
levels it out.” Although these numbers
seem slightly hazy because of the
migrant workers factor, there are other
ways to gauge an actual increase in the
amount of tourism to the island.
Tourists have been flocking to
Reykjavík ś information centres before
gearing up for their trips around
Iceland. In Visit Reykjavík, Maria
has noticed up to a 40% increase in
visitors since last year. In 2008, the
total number of visitors to the Tourist
Information Centre was a record
270,711. To make a comparison, the
current population of Iceland is around
320,000. That ś a whole lot of tourists.
The style of travellers has also changed
a bit. Although the pamphlets are still
obviously present clutched in the hands
of sightseers, it seems like itineraries
have gone out the window. “There is
a trend for more individual travel and
people booking later, and just kind of
showing up without perhaps having
booked their accommodation or
knowing what they want to do here,”
Maria states.
In the midst of the summer season,
tourism, despite all its interior
changes, seems to be going steady and
improving its numbers quite well. In
June, 45,000 visitors stopped at Visit
Reykjavík, a 16% increase from last
year. This July, there has already been a
12% increase in visitors with one week
to go. If the numbers for the last week
even remain the same as last year ś,
that means a 30% increase in guests
for the entire month.
The numbers for the first half of
summer seem to show no foreseeable
setbacks. People have continued
to flock to Iceland in search of its
unique natural wonders and outdoor
experiences. And they don t́ seem to
miss the steaming temperatures back
home one bit.
Travel | Activity
jOYCE GUZOWSkI
jOYCE GUZOWSkI
“It seems like itineraries
have gone out the
window”