New Tourism Campaign To Focus On How To Behave In Iceland

Iceland’s tourism industry has launched a new campaign with an emphasis on teaching tourists about enjoying the country safely.

“We’re looking a bit at responsible tourism behaviour,” Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir, the Director of Tourism at Promote Iceland told RÚV. “We aim to do this in a fun way, to answer the call about how tourists should behave in Iceland.”

Promote Iceland introduced their new marketing campaign at a conference yesterday, which aims less at increasing the number of tourists to Iceland – as has been the aim in years past – and more at educating tourists about acting responsibly and enjoying different parts of the country safely. This campaign will extend to social media, websites and non-Icelandic news sources.

Minister of Tourism Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir told reporters that the new campaign fits well with changes the government has in store for the industry. These changes include renovating certain locations of the country to help ensure tourist safety.

As reported, numerous close calls at several tourist locations, and the recent death of a tourist at Reynisfjara beach, have prompted members of parliament to begin taking tourist safety more seriously. While a large part of the problem concerns tourists who ignore hazard signs and verbal warnings from tour guides, some locations lack adequate safety measures, especially in proportion to the numbers of tourists who visit Iceland.