Iceland review - 2016, Qupperneq 51

ICELAND REVIEW 49
[but] the police can’t monitor all places,
that’s not something we can do.” Jónas,
too, has a similar message: “Though it
sounds cruel, the fact is that because of
the environment here, there will always
be accidents. We need to ensure that
the yearly number of accidents is within
the acceptable range for the number of
tourists visiting,” he says, pointing out
that the number of fatal accidents among
tourists has actually declined.
Apart from average tourists receiving
negative press for behaving recklessly,
groups attempting extreme adventure
challenges have been criticized, too. The
latest such example was a group of four
hikers. Their planned expedition, the
Coldest Crossing, involved skiing across
the country, via the highlands, unassisted,
in December. The team had to be rescued
by ICE-SAR three times. The incident
reignited debate about whether tourists
who ignore warnings or are found to
have been acting recklessly, should pay
for their rescue. Jónas says that the asso-
ciation is generally against such an idea.
“If someone lands in an accident, they
would think first whether or not they
will call if it costs 30,000, 300,000 or
3 million krónur, as rescues sometimes
do. However, if they show neglect, for
example, if they go around closed road
signs or ignore weather warnings, then
they can be charged a fine by police
after they’ve received help. Some teams
charge 30-50,000 krónur but it’s up to
the individual teams to decide on that
and it’s based on common sense and fair-
ness. We help 7-8,000 tourists every year,
mainly in cars. They are mostly normal
people who didn’t realize that sections of
the Ring Road were closed during winter
... very seldom do people show complete
recklessness.”
This year, Iceland will see all previous
tourist number records broken—serious-
ly testing the industry. Ragnheiður Elín
emphasizes that Iceland is an exciting
country and tourists should not avoid
coming here. “Despite all the news cover-
age, it’s not as dramatic as it sounds.” Ólöf
has a similar message: “Iceland is a new
and constantly evolving country. It’s not
without its risks, but there are relatively
few accidents and the number of seri-
ous accidents has actually declined. Like
all exotic destinations, you need to plan
well. Check all the available information
and don’t be afraid to ask questions, as
Icelanders will readily answer them.” *
TRAVEL
PHOTO BY FINNBOGI MARINÓSSON.
At Reynisfjara, May 16, 2015.