Reykjavík Grapevine - Jul 2022, Page 10

10 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07— 2022
so amazing, and we have really great
memories at them. And they are now
closed—forever closed with a gate and
a key.”
“Even though it was still a ‘secret’
location,” Kyana continues, “Just the
fact that people knew it existed, meant
they could figure out how to get there,
and they ended up trashing the place
because it's not their home. And, you
know, they're just tourists. They don't
care. You see it every year at Seljaval-
lalaug. There's graffiti and trash and
clothes and it smells.”
“It's not because of locals,” she
concludes. “Locals are definitely not
doing that. It's all tourists.”
THE JOYS OF THE JOB
Despite the challenges that can be pres-
ent in her line of work, Kyana is vocal
about how much she loves her job.
“It’s given me a whole life in Iceland,
which is incredible,” she says, grate-
fully. Kyana was recently given a visa to
remain in Iceland, after an extremely
tumultuous period where she was under
threat of deportation after having her
work visa declined. Unsurprisingly,
Kyana turned to her social media
accounts to raise support for her cause,
which seemed to be a major contributor
to the reversal of the Department of
Work and Pensions’ decision.
However, it was not without contro-
versy—many criticisms were levelled
at Kyana, including that her campaign
lacked self-awareness and failed to
acknowledge her privilege as a middle-
class American, compared to the many
others who face deportation from
Iceland, often to places with deplorable
or life-threatening conditions.
But despite this experience, Kyana
is still happy to be here, and proud to
be doing what she does. “It’s pretty
awesome that being a content creator,
you get to work with other people who
are doing the same thing,” she remarks.
“And at the end of the day, none of us
know what we’re doing—it’s a brand
new industry!” She laughs, and adds:
“We’re paving the way for people in the
future and just trying to do our best. It’s
great to be able to have conversations
about it with other creators, and I feel
like there’s a really good community
here in Iceland.”
“WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE
GOING TO STAY?”
Regardless of what else that potential
future holds, what is clear is that tour-
ism and social media are both here to
stay, and it is time to have an honest
conversation about what that means
in Iceland. In this experience econ-
omy, people are willing to spend great
swathes of their income to immerse
themselves in an imagined version of
authentic Icelandic life. That we, as a
country, benefit hugely from this is
without doubt. Tourism is Iceland’s
biggest industry, after all, and there is
barely anyone living here who doesn’t
gain some level of income or benefit
from the tourism industry.
But Iceland is not a theme park. It
is a home to 370,000 people, as well as
a natural environment that is delicate
and sensitive to change. At the height of
the summer, walking down Laugavegur
can feel like being an extra in someone
else’s fantasy of Iceland—a fantasy that
is often sold to people through social
media.
There are big challenges to tackle.
Every year, the Icelandic government
pumps millions of krónur into promot-
ing tourism in Iceland, with the appar-
ent goal of attracting more and more
visitors. Parallel to that, influencers like
Kyana and Jewells also continue to build
their brands, selling, essentially, a story
about Iceland—a dream we are encour-
aged to follow. Meanwhile, hospitals,
roads, campsites and car parks are all
groaning at the seams. With so much at
stake, can tourism really just continue
to increase, unfettered?
“I don’t see social media going
anywhere,” Kyana states. “But there has
to be a conversation about the capac-
ity of what Iceland can handle, because
it seems impossible. The hotels are
booked, there aren’t enough cars. Where
are these people going to stay?”
14 years ago, when Iceland’s finan-
cial future hung in the balance, tourism
came in to save it. Now, post-pandemic,
and with inflation at its highest since
2009, the situation once again feels
like it’s balancing on a knife’s edge. But
the world is undeniably different now,
and the way we travel must reflect that.
Jewells, Kyana and their peers present a
hopeful approach. Their focus on foster-
ing personal connection and encour-
aging responsible, sensitive tourism,
might just indicate the way forward.
“There’s this moral compass that’s
developing on the internet,” Jewells
says.
Tourism is no longer the domain
of traditional gatekeepers like travel
agents or airline companies—it belongs
to the people who come here. It has been
ostensibly democratised, but the grass-
roots movement has in itself grown
to become commercial. Iceland will
never be without tourism again, but
our complex, codependent relationship
with it is also firmly here to stay.
“There has to be a conversation about the capacity
of what Iceland can handle.”
Kyana Sue Powers utilises Instagram 'reels' to reach her fans
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