You know, I started visiting 25 years ago, and in that time I met people who said, “What, do you mean Ireland?” And now everyone says, “Oh, I’m going there,” or “My neighbor is going,” or “I want to go.” It is much more in people’s consciousness.
Immediately after the volcanic eruption in 2010, the ‘Inspired by Iceland’ campaign was launched to promote tourism. i read that over a quarter of the Icelandic adult population participated.
Well, everyone had to tell all their friends to come to Iceland. I certainly did, and many other people did as well. There have been some genius campaigns, and many of them have important underlying messages about sustainability, such as the Icelandic promise, a commitment to responsible travel that anyone can make online. I think travelers want to know more about the countries we visit and what we can do to give back, but sometimes we don’t know how to access that information. And the Icelandic Promise is a good way to remind people to be kind to nature and make sure you have a travel plan in case something happens.
I was struck by an item in the pledge that said, “I’ll take pictures to die for, without dying for it.” I think people sometimes forget themselves?
Here we have hot springs with really hot water; we have active volcanoes; we have sneaker waves on beaches; we have strong wind. Somehow we think we are invincible when we are on vacation, but we still have to use common sense.
You write in your book that one of the best ways for visitors to get to know Icelanders is to hang out in a hot tub at a geothermal pool. Why is that?
They say if you want to meet a Brit, go to a pub; if you want to meet a Frenchman, go to a cafe. And especially here in Iceland you go to a swimming pool, because that’s where you can meet people — morning, noon or night. And I recommend visitors to try different pools because they all have their own character and personality and you can meet different types of people. They are clean and affordable, and it’s something all locals do.
Reading your book, I got the feeling that the Icelandic community is becoming more and more diverse, but still very close-knit.
On the weekend I had to buy a bra – which, you know, it’s such a fun experience. I was talking to the woman who worked at the store, and the woman in the locker room next to me says, “I know that voice.” And it was our chief medical officer – like Iceland’s Anthony Fauci. And we just laughed that we only meet in Iceland in an underwear store. And then I ran into her again the next day at the supermarket. And you just think: this is a small country.
A few years before the pandemic, Iceland received some media attention for “overtourism.” What did you think?
I think overtourism is a bit of an unfair terminology. Yes, the number of tourists has increased and the percentage increase has been huge, but much of that has to do with seasonality. Everyone used to come in the summer because there was nowhere to stay in the countryside in the winter. But now two-thirds of visitors come outside the summer months. They come all year round and they travel a lot more around the country. It’s still easy to get here and not see any other tourists.
In the larger cities in Europe you see challenges with accommodation and affordable housing and making larger communities liveable for residents. We’ve seen that here too. But overall, I think tourism is a good thing if it’s managed well and we have sustainable long-term plans. It ultimately brings money into the economy. That is why it is good to have many family businesses. We need the big conglomerates; they pay a lot of taxes. But you have to have a mix.