Iceland Encourages Slow Travel Trend to Rid Locals from Over Tourism Issues

The terms — ‘over tourism’ and ‘slow travel trend’ have become quite mainstream in the travel industry jargon these days. Since the world is preparing to get back on its feet, tourist destinations are exploring ways to resume travel and encourage people to embrace the concept of slow travel. One tourist spot which is consciously working to improve itself amid the pandemic is Iceland.

Iceland’s scenic waterfalls, volcanoes and Instagram worthy outdoor lagoons had become increasingly popular among tourists between 2013 to 2017. While welcoming two million visitors every year, this country has witnessed both ‘bad tourists’ and ‘good tourists’. The huge influx of tourists is gradually leading the country closer to an inevitable environmental damage.

Easy border crossings, cheap regional carriers and budget friendly Airbnb packages are some of the main reasons for rising over tourism across the country. The growth of tourism industry not only poses major threats to natural and cultural treasures but also disrupts the everyday life of local people. Years of cultural disruption have degraded tourist’s experience of the country.

To combat these challenges, tour package providers in Iceland are aiming to lure wealthy travellers and encouraging them to follow slow travel trend. By encouraging people to stay for longer time periods, the country is aiming to increase customer base for all tourism dependent businesses, restaurants and hotels. This move will also control the problem of overcrowding as travellers adapt slow exploration strategies.

In November 2019, Iceland launched a smart strategy to lure foreign nationals. It announced a new visa for international remote workers who can now stay in the country for up to six months, if they can verify self-employment or show employment with a firm. However, only high earning professionals with a monthly salary of at least 1 million ISK ($7,360) or about $88,000 per year can apply for this visa.

Besides encouraging slow travel trend, the country is also preparing to rework the infrastructure of its tourist sites to protect its tangible cultural treasures. Despite sinking travel industry revenues in 2020, Iceland has increased tourism expenditure by 40 percent. Many famous social media spots, including the basalt column-flanked canyon of Stuðlagil, will be improvised.

Meanwhile, Iceland’s parliament is debating a proposal to build a national park in the Highlands. The national park will protect about 30 percent area of the country. As per Iceland’s Minister for the Environment Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, “The establishment of the Highland National Park would be a huge advantage for Icelandic tourism and, in fact, for the national economy as a whole, especially during the recovery period after the coronavirus pandemic”.

Initiatives, like encouraging slow travel trend, improving infrastructure of tourist spots and combating over tourism to protect the interests of locals, have given the country an opportunity to rebirth its quiet clean trails yet again.