Following on from previous
entries, this section of the blog will critically analyse the touristic
provision of Reykjavik and Iceland following my study visit. An audit took
place whilst visiting the destination regarding the Destination Management
Framework provided by United Nations World Tourism Organisations (2012).
Findings from the audit shall be reviewed and shared in order to gain a
holistic view of Reykjavik as a tourist destination with key tourism theories
underpinning my analysis.
Unless otherwise stated - all images are authors own.
Destination Management
Framework
The below framework identifies
the components of Destination Management. I carried out a first-hand audit of
Reykjavik and its tourist offerings using the below framework to identify
successes, failures and challenges relating to the management of the
destination.
Source: UNWTO, 2012
When establishing what attracts a
tourist to a destination the following elements must be considered according to
UNWTO:
- Public and Private Amenities
These areas must be managed in
synergy to be successful therefore the need for destination management arises.
Although not responsible for any particular entity the destination managers
must oversea and lead the activity of tourism industries, community, regional
authorities and visitor. The below articles will discuss Reykjavik’s
destination management following the study visit analysis. Reference to the
framework and tourist destination elements will be referred to throughout.
Destination Image -
Expectations vs Perceptions
Destination image formation is
the process of one acquiring a collection of data to create an expectation of a
place prior to one visiting said destination (Kim and Chen, 2015). This
accumulation of data will trigger a sense of motivation and is a key
influencing factor in the decision-making process when one is seeking to travel
(Echtner and Ritchie, 2003). This process took place prior to visiting Iceland
and my expectations were formed after researching the destination.
As part of
the image formation process Gunn (1972) introduced the theory of organic and
induced images. Organic images are those portrayed through media and personal
capturing whereas induced images are created for marketing purposes and can
often be enhanced or exaggerated. As a keen follower of destination trends, I
have noticed Iceland become a ‘must-visit’ location on many travel lists in
recent years including Lonely Planet’s renowned best in travel series (Lonely
Planet, 2017). These sources provide many induced images of Iceland however I
was cautious to create an over romanticised vision of the destination knowing
that organic and induced images often fail to align (Dominique and Lopes,
2011).
To my delight the organic images of Iceland I came across through other
sources did in fact appear to be like those which have been enhanced for
marketing purposes This can be seen in the comparison of the below images.
Induced Image – Architectural
Digest (2016)
Organic Image – The Guardian
(2015)
Image taken by author, Rachel Mawdsley – March
2017
As you can see, the images are
very similar and my perceptions of the destination were not only matched but
exceeded the expected destination image portrayed prior to visiting. This can
be referred to as positive disconfirmation per the expectancy disconfirmation
theory which acknowledges that customer satisfaction can be exceeded when
expectations are not met due to perceptions being better than one could have
predicted (Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman, 1996). This is something
destination managers strive to achieve as perceived positive destination
assessment can lead to return visits and more importantly word of mouth
endorsement to urge other travellers to the destination (Seweryn, 2013). I have
championed this theory since my return as I have recommended the destination to
all who have asked about my trip and would consider returning myself.
It
must be acknowledged that this exceeding of expectations is largely due to the
breath-taking views and scenery we were exposed to as not all who visit may
experience this. We were extremely fortunate to have visited at the time we
did; according to Iceland Monitor (2017) the days leading up to our visitor had
brought a storm which led to record breaking snow fall with 51cm snow covering
the ground – this is the biggest snow fall since 1952 and we got to witness the
country covered in powder white snow without being exposed to the elements
ourselves.
The below image shows Hallgrímskirkja church during the snow storm
in contrast to the photograph I took during the visit, both photos were taken
within the same week. According to our guide, Hanna Mia, we got to enjoy the
first sunshine of the year during our 4 day visit meaning the usual cloudy
skies and freezing wind chill which can often dampen experiences was nowhere to
be seen. This truly was a case of the calm after the storm!
Although fortunate for our trip, it is
easy to imagine how many of the activities we participated in could have been
affected by adverse weather conditions. This leads me to analyse some of the attractions
that destination managers can offer in Reykjavik and Iceland.
Assessing Reykjavik’s Attraction
As previously mentioned in the
pre-visit submission of this blog, there is no doubt that Iceland’s main pull
factor is the landscape. When reviewing the UNWTO Destination Management
Framework below the built and natural environment and culture of a destination
is at the centre of the touristic appeal.
Beerli and Martin (2004) break
down the meaning of built and natural environment and culture in to the
following:
Built environment: Man-made
structures which offer purpose to tourists and locals including buildings,
hotels and leisure facilities/ attractions.
Examples of the built environment that
Reykjavik offers include:
Hallgrímskirkja Church - Reykjavík's main landmark which can be seen from
almost everywhere in the city (Visit Reykjavik, 2017). This certainly proved
helpful as a mark for when we strayed from the town centre!
Harpa Concert and
Conference Center - A cultural and social centre in the heart of
the city (Visit Reykjavik, 2017). This
impressive building leant itself to be a great meeting point for the group.
Blue Lagoon - The iconic blue lagoon is Iceland's most renowned attraction (Visit Reykjavik, 2017). Our first stop off the plane, it was a unique experience and less crowded than expected although it is currently undergoing further expansion.
Restaurants and Bars – The
city was packed with unique restaurants and bars to suit many tastes however
one thing they all appeared to have in common was the cost – the prices were
double, sometimes triple that of home.
Natural environment: The
natural environment which is not man-made such as weather, beach, lake,
mountain, desert, etc.
This was of course the main offering
for tourists. Examples of the natural environment that Reykjavik and the
surrounding area offers include:
Eyjafjallajökull – The mountain
famous for causing disruption to air travel after it’s volcanic eruption in
2010 (Guide to Iceland, 2017). It was particularly interesting to learn how the
buildings had not been disrupted due to the glacial flooding occurring on the
other side of the mountain – phew!
Reynisfjara shore - The world-famous black sand
beach located on Iceland's South Coast (Guide to Iceland, 2017). Although we
were warned of the dangers unfortunately not all tourists listen to their
guides and some have fallen victim to the intensely powerful waves.
Seljalandsfoss - The only known waterfall of its kind, where it is possible to walk
behind (Visit Iceland, 2017). This was a highlight of my trip – the few of us
who managed to make our way past the thick ice behind the waterfall had a truly
memorable experience which will stay with us for a long time to come.
Aurora
Borealis/ Northern Lights – Iceland is renowned for natural phenomenon
including the remarkable northern lights (Visit Reykjavik, 2017). Having spent
one evening northern light hunting we got incredibly whilst strolling through
the streets of Reykjavik the following night. This is something many hope to
experience however weather conditions were on our side – another example of how
lucky we were! The mobile phone camera does not give this spectacle justice!
Gulfoss - Probably Iceland's most famous waterfall (Visit Iceland, 2017). This site was one of the most heavily occupied by tourists and the viewing platform made it a struggle to get pictures due to it holding a small capacity of visitors at any one time.
Cultural environment: Defined as the arts, customs, and habits of a
society or nation and can include host quality/way of life, hospitality and
friendliness.
Although hard to capture in an image
we were introduced to many of the local customs and folk tales by our tour
guide. Her insight in to old Icelandic sagas, modern way of life and the
countries openness to creativity gave us a feel for the Icelandic culture; it
is no wonder Iceland was recently voted in the top 10 happiest countries to
live in the world (CNN, 2017).
This happy fellow greeted us in
Icelandic fashion once we appeared outside his home to visit the hot springs...
Displaying local friendliness, this resident joined in when we asked if he could take a picture of us!
Nothing was too much trouble for the
locals and we felt like welcomed guests wherever we went.
In contrast to competing destinations
Iceland and Reykjavik have unique offerings in terms or natural and cultural
attractions. The man-made attractions are often culture/arts focussed, this
links in with the creative culture of the country. It is not like any country I
have visited before and it is not hard to see why it is perceived as a bucket
list destination. However, with great success come great challenges…
Sustainable Tourism Development
One of the key challenges for destination
managers is the sustainability of tourism developments (Wickens, Bakir and
Alvarez, 2014). As mentioned in my pre-visit article there has been a proposed
plan by the Boston
Consultation Group which recommends ways in which Iceland’s
destination managers can ensure sustainable tourism to the destination. The
three pillars of sustainability, as proposed by the 1987 Brundtland Report, are
considered as part of the vision statement for destination Iceland, shown
below.
Proposed
vision for the future of tourism in Iceland
By breaking down the statement in
to socio-cultural, environmental and economic components I have reviewed how my
experiences of the destination compare to the desired vision.
SOCIO-CULTURAL
Something which Iceland pride
themselves on is their ‘unique culture and warm-hearted welcome’. This
certainly appeared to be the case in most of our interactions with locals
however I am mindful that this may change with the increase of tourists.
According to Doxey’s irridex (1975) host
communities experience different responses to tourists depending on the amount
of tourist developments to the destination. The theory implies that tourists
will become more irritated by tourists as tourism develops, this is from a
scale of euphoria to antagonism. The levels of irritation can correspond with
the stages of Butler’s tourism life cycle (1980), as illustrated in the below
table.
Source: Faulkner and
Tideswell, 1997
Evidence of developments around
the city can allow one to assume that Reykjavik is currently at the development
stage of the tourist life cycle.
Rising new hotel developments
could be seen amongst the backdrop of the otherwise low rise buildings within
the city centre, as shown in the photographs below.
The Iceland Review (2014) confirm
these hotels, and many more in the surrounding areas, are being built to
accommodate the increase in tourists to the destination. Using Doxey’s irridex
it can be perceived that locals are currently experiencing apathy towards
tourists and as such welcome the resulting income and investments. However,
once consolidation is reached hosts are at risk of becoming annoyed by tourists
and resentment may begin to occur. This would sacrifice the warm welcome that
the destination Iceland vision for the future intends to offer.
Evidence of annoyance can already
be seen amongst locals online. In March 2017 an Icelandic news outlet, Iceland
Monitor, posted a news article to their facebook site declaring tourism
providers intentions to build a tourist village by the iconic Geysir (see
article here). From the comments it is obvious that this was not welcomed
news by some locals; the below image shows a snapshot of some of the opinions
of what appear to be Icelandic residents. Even as a tourist myself I was
saddened to see unsightly modern developments amongst the landscape of quirky
Icelandic buildings so it is no wonder locals are voicing their opinions where
possible.
Issues of loss of authenticity,
resident displacement and mass tourism are all raised as concerns although it
is unlikely these opinions will be heard when economic dependency on tourism
appears to be a key motivator for destination managers. These socio-cultural
challenges facing Reykjavik’s destination managers must be acknowledged and one
would recommend future developments consider the impact on residents prior to
approval. Ensuring residents have input in to tourist developments can help
obtain locals buy-in and potentially reduce tensions between hosts and tourists
(Milan, 2008).
ECONOMIC
In a bid to overcome the financial crisis of
2008 the Icelandic Tourist Board set out to increase visitor numbers and thus
gained major visitor spend which helped them become the first European country to
beat their pre-economic crisis output (Sheffield, 2015). The chart below shows
how the tourism industry has overtaken that of Iceland’s other major economic
industries.
Source: Skift, 2017
This rapid increase shows a boom in
dependency on tourism to the island. Unlike other countries the Iceland government
are yet to tax tourists however with continuing growth of tourist numbers this
has recently been up for deliberation with the Iceland tourism minister, Thordis
Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir, acknowledging that the sector must not become
victims of their own success (Bloomberg, 2017).
It is no secret that it is an expensive
country to visit – I found myself paying £5 for a bottle of water in a
supermarket! Implementing taxes may do the desired job of deterring tourists,
like myself, who are there to view the beauty of the destination however are
unable to afford to do much more than purchase food and drinks along the way. This
concept would align with the vision to attract quality visitors and ensure those
who visit are likely to be wealthy enough to support valuable spending. As a student,
I certainly would not have been able to fund the trip on my own – this added to
my experience as I knew how lucky I was to be experiencing the destination on a
subsidised budget!
As tourists on a budget we found ourselves spending our time walking around the city - spending money only on necessities. Harpa was free to visit so we found ourselves using this as a central meeting spot...quite literally as seen in the image below.
ENVIRONMENTAL
The number one challenge for
destination managers to the country and Reykjavik is the impact of tourism on
the environment (Landvernd, 2017). The Icelandic Environment Association recognise
that the natural environment is the main reason for most visitors to the destination
and as such want to ensure it can be enjoyed by both locals and tourists for
generations to come. Furthermore, the association have outlined the following
as immediate actions to achieve sustainability to natural areas:
1.
Close
certain areas, either periodically within the calendar year and depending on
season, or more permanently until nature in severely degraded areas has
recovered
2.
Restrict
the number of visitors to certain areas
3.
Build a
better infrastructure in areas where we see that fit
4.
Consider
carefully to start charging money for access to nature
Evidence of ways in which these
environmental challenges are being tackled could be seen throughout the trip. The
visitor management frameworks used ranged from soft measures, which aim to educate
and are open to interpretation, to hard measures which are regulatory, physical
and economic in nature (Mason, 2005). A variation of both types of measurement were
experienced throughout the trip:
Soft measures used included educational
boards, which were available at most sites. These boards are well away from the
main attractions, ensuring that the notices did not interrupt the landscape and
opportunity to enjoy the stunning views. Most signage also had multi language paragraphs
to meet varying tourist needs.
Hraunfossar Barnafoss
(Waterfalls)
Eyjafjallajokull
Seljalandsfoss
Our experienced tour guide was
also on hand to warn of the dangers of some sites and advised us on best
practise when taking photographs. This was particularly relevant at the Reynisfjara
black beach where past tourists have died due to taking images too close to the
water and are swept up by large waves (Iceland Monitor, 2017).
Harder measures included physical
barriers which stopped people from entering certain parts of attractions in a
bid to reduce erosion and ensure visitor safety.
Hot Springs
Skogafoss
As champions of tourism our commitment
to responsible tourism came to play when visiting the destination however not
all visitors will understand the delicate nature of the landscape and the
impact that people can have, especially when a large number of people visit a
site at once. This lack of responsible tourism may lead to the tourists being
charged to visit certain destinations however this is against Icelandic values
and will therefore not be a choice taken lightly (Icelandic Tourist Board,
2017).
TO CONCLUDE,
The study visit to Iceland provided extremely
valuable and interesting insight in to a destination which is experiencing a
great tourism boom. Although the destination is currently reaping the benefits
of the economic gains that tourism can bring it does appear that issues of
socio-cultural and environmental impacts are beginning to untangle, some of
which were evidenced during our visit.
Fortunately, destination managers and
key tourism industry players appear to be aware of the impacts of tourism. However,
it can be argued that in order to prevent issues associated with mass tourism
the destination must begin to control and enforce tourism management frameworks
now before it is too late!
This
is truly one of the best destinations I have visited and its touristic offering
is extremely competitive with its breath-taking landscapes and unique local way
of life. My hope is that the destination begins to find dependency in other economic
services or goods so it has a better chance of avoiding overtourism and can
stay unique and true to what enchants visitors in the first place!
