The 2010 volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull initiated levels of tourism in Iceland to increase. Before this not many people were aware of the unique experiences that Iceland could provide and I know I thought it was quite inaccessible. But only a 3 hour flight from the UK and easy transfers when you arrive, it's surprising that not many people had explored this spectacular country before.
According to Butler (2006), any tourist destination undergoes a tourism area life cycle in which you see levels of tourism, attitudes of residents, available attractions and economic contributions develop and change over time.
According to this graph, I would interpret Iceland as sitting in the 'consolidation' stage of the life cycle. This is due to the growth rates of tourists slowing down, residents still appreciating the importance of tourism and extensive advertising still taking place to develop new markets and appeal out of season (Getz, 1992).
From being a quiet, cultural and historic country to being swarmed with tourists at all times of the year, Iceland have had to develop and make changes to accommodate our needs. My lecturers said that the infrastructure and services available have developed extensively since the last time they visited 3 years ago. They have extended the airport and added more facilities at each attraction. It is obvious that they have better control of all the sites now as vandalising and littering did not seem to be a problem when I was there.
The attractions along the Golden Circle and South Coast are extremely busy with hundreds of coaches arriving every day. The amount of people visiting these sites increased so much that Iceland’s tourism authority had to warn visitors about risks to their safety and the importance of preserving the natural sites (Morris, 2019).
I was expecting the place to be extremely busy with crowds of tourists everywhere however this was not the case and the roads were rather quiet. Walking around the streets, it was silent, even the cars weren't making any noise! This could possibly be due to the fact that we went out of season. Butler (2001), describes seasonality as a temporary imbalance in tourism that affects elements such as number of visitors, expenditure, traffic, employment and attraction admissions. For Iceland, the seasonality is created naturally as people want to go at the best time to see the northern lights for example. Unfortunately for us, we went at one of the worst times to see them in March! The problem with this is that the country can't efficiently use its full capacity unless in peak season (Lundtorp, 2001). This may create temporary jobs for workers at restaurants, hotels and tour operators which means pay is not guaranteed. It also risks creating an over reliance on tourists for economic contribution and leaves the country feeling anxious out of season. To prevent this, Iceland continues to advertise its attractions outside of the season and despite the streets not being overly crowded, there was still a significant amount of visitors at all of the attractions. Having said this, it may also be beneficial to Iceland to recover in these periods where numbers are slower as the small, protected community can reform and prepare for the next peak in the year.
Whilst looking round each attraction, despite there being information available, I don't feel that I learnt much about the history of Iceland. The idea behind people visiting these sites is to be educated on the culture and background of the country but it is possible that the reason for travelling to Iceland has now changed. Clarke (1956), discusses how some leisure activities are seen as a feature of social stratification and visitors will gloat about their experience in Iceland, especially on social media, rather than enjoying an educated trip for personal fulfilment. I'm as guilty as anyone as I know that I have already posted some pictures on instagram as going to Iceland is a bucket list trip for many. Learning about the historic details of each site is not necessarily priority to me but it doesn't mean we don't appreciate the beautiful scenery.
Due to the growth in tourism, the value of the Icelandic Krona was increased making it harder for tourists to visit. According to Gottlieb (2015), visitors are now cutting the length of their holidays and cramming all the activities in, as it is too expensive to stay for a long trip. Furthermore, in contrast to my expectations, the University had to pay more per person for us to visit Iceland as we were travelling as a large group. As you can see, Iceland has had to respond to the visitation and increase prices to ensure a contribution is made. It is possibly a technique to deter tourists and only allow smaller numbers to visit for a decreased length of time.
Despite some issues with the vast levels of tourism in Iceland, it can't be denied that the tourists are making a significant difference to local shops, restaurants, hotels and other businesses in the country. According to the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF), each visitor contributes roughly 1 million ISK making tourism the biggest provider to Iceland's economy (Gottlieb, 2015).
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