Iceland review - 2016, Síða 82

80 ICELAND REVIEW
large companies in the sector, too—like Icelandair, which
apart from being an airline also owns a large hotel business.
What these industries have in common is that they both
make money from accessing a limited resource. Fishing
already pays for access to its resource, tourism does not.
The current government has failed to address this issue,
but will have to do so soon. It tried to propose a nature
pass, which tourists and locals alike would have to buy to
access certain important sites. The money raised would
be used to build facilities and infrastructure around the
country. But the plan was unsuccessful, mainly because it
was anathema to many Icelanders who think charging for
access completely changes our relationship with this land
where access for all has always been a fundamental right.
This boom also has an economic impact on ordinary
people. There are many who benefit, but they are mostly
business owners and those letting property out to tour-
ists. People in their twenties and early thirties who find it
impossible to rent or buy small apartments, because they
are listed on Airbnb, are the ones who lose out. They also
lose out because although there are jobs to be had in tour-
ism, they often pay minimum wage.
SOCIAL CHANGES
What’s it like to live in a country overrun
by tourists? They dress in hiking gear as
though they expect Reykjavík to be like the
Swiss Alps in winter, and pore over maps
on street corners. The locals often have
a perplexed look when groups of tourists
walk past, dressed as if ready to tackle not
Skólavörðustígur, but the Khumbu Icefall,
en route to Chomolungma.
I tried to write this piece at my favorite
café—now mentioned in every tourist
guide—the famous Grái Kötturinn (‘the
Grey Cat’), opposite the National Theater.
But alas, I couldn’t find a table; they were
all occupied by tourists. A couple of years
ago you would have found a mixture of
local writers, lawyers and real estate specu-
lators, as well as actors having their morn-
ing coffee before a 10 am rehearsal at the
theatre. Former prime minister and central
bank governor, now presidential candidate,
Davíð Oddsson could occasionally be found
skulking about, fox-like, in a corner. I finally
found a spot in Kaffitár on Bankastræti and
discovered three locals among tourists of
various nationalities.
The tourism boom affects the way we all
experience the country, both in a positive
and negative way. Icelanders have stopped
going to the places they used to visit when
they were kids and which represented some-
thing almost sacred. Gullfoss and Geysir
are left to tourists arriving in busloads. It’s
thought that at least 3,000-4,000 people a
OPINION