News 2010

October 2010

After the 19th Nordic Symposium

Now the 19th Nordic Symposium on Tourism and Hospitality Research, held in Akureyri 22nd – 25th September 2010  is over. The conference was well attended with 120 participants from all over the world, but mostly Scandinavia. The conference was a great success with all guests content if not very happy. On the conference webpage there are now on the left hand banner three things:

1. All the presentations we found left on session lap-tops, arranged with hyperlinks into the conference programme

2. 252 pictures from the event which are arranged chronologically, so you can follow the event from start to finish as documented by Jón Gestur. The last 79 pictures are from North Iceland from the "travel  diary of the Dutch New Zealander" - courtesy of Erwin Loosekoot, one of the participants.

3. A feed-back form, but we do appreciate your comments and thoughts.

Please visit: http://www.rmf.is/19thNordicsymposium/

 

September 2010

The Icelandic Tourism Research Centre has now published a report on storytelling and destination development focusing on an Icelandic case study. The report details the methods and development of the Settlement Centre in Borgarnes (www.landnam.is), but is also part and parcel of a larger Nordic project funded by the Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe). At the end of this year the final report for the Nordic project will be published providing a comparison of the Icelandic case with other similar destinations in each of the Nordic countries. Björg Árnadóttir from the Reykjavík Academy wrote the Icelandic part for the ITRC and she is hereby thanked wholeheartedly for her contribution. The report can be downloaded here.   

The Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) has also funded the ITRC to study health and wellness tourism as part of a Nordic study as well. The Icelandic report on the development of the Mývatn Nature Baths will be ready soon and will be advertised on the ITRC web. By the end of the year a final report detailing a comparison with other Nordic health and wellness destinations and an outlook for Nordic health and wellness tourism will be delivered. 

 

August 2010

ITRC launches new NPP project in Iceland

The ITRC is the domestic lead partner to a recently funded NPP project that will be initiated in the autumn. The aim of the project is to develop innovative, long term and sustainable solutions for transport services adapted to rural tourism areas in the Northern Periphery. This will be done by implementing new and improved public transport and related information services:

• New tourist bus services, operated to meet local and seasonal demand (shuttle or flexible timetables) and integrated with long distance transport.
• Food delivery and recycling pick-up services to/from cabins and rental apartments
• User friendly web and mobile phone based transport information systems

The services will facilitate development of tourism in the project areas whilst reducing carbon emissions and local congestion from private cars. The project results will be disseminated to the wider Northern Periphery through a website, newsletters and seminars, and a joint policy advice paper on transport planning in rural tourism areas will also be produced.

The ITRC is currently seeking destinations and companies interested in partaking in the development under the terms of this project 

 

July 2010

ITRC research projects this summer

The Icelandic Tourism Research Centre is monitoring closely tourism in Iceland all around the country with surveys and research begin carried out in all parts of Iceland. Tourist surveys are begin carried out amongst all departing passengers from Akureyri International airport, but also in the municipalities of Fjallabyggð, Borgarfjörður Eystri and around lake Mývatn. Interviews are being made with tourism industry stakeholders in the capital region on management practices, but also with owners of second homes, tourism entrepreneurs and visionaries in West Iceland and with stakeholders in the East on specific development projects. In addition a survey is being prepared to find out the Icelander‘s expectations to the countries first national park around lake Þingvellir.

 

April 2010

Travellers in Iceland are safe and sound

The Icelandic Tourist Board held a meeting at noon today, 16 April 2010, whereupon it was decided to issue a press release stressing that day-to-day life in Iceland is just as usual, even though the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier on the south coast of Iceland has made a profound impact and generated dangers in a specified area. In other parts of the country, Icelanders’ daily life is proceeding quite normally. Even though the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull is relatively small, airborne volcanic ash has dispersed over a wide area and disrupted air travel in Europe. It is the joint task of the aviation and tourism authorities in Europe to find ways to transport travellers to their destinations with absolute safety. It is the task of Iceland’s Civil Protection Department to ensure that the utmost safety measures are followed in Iceland, and to provide a constant flow of information to all parties that need it. Euro Control and the Volcanic Ash Center take decisions on air travel authorisations in Europe. Even if the eruption is prolonged – and its duration is impossible to predict – it is considered likely that volcanic ash formation will taper off once the preconditions for the mixture of water and embers no longer exist. The Icelandic Tourist Board wishes to forewarn the public of exaggerated news reports on the eruption but encourages travellers to keep abreast of developments. Travellers currently in Iceland are safe and well-treated, and the appropriate parties are making every effort to make their stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

 

February 2010

New board of directors for the ITRC

As of the annual meeting in 2010 a new board of directors has been commissioned and all members of the board have renewed commissions from their respective institutes. All board members are commissioned for three years, but they are i.a. obliged to appoint a director for the research centre for three years. The appointment of the current director thus needs to be renewed as of autumn 2011 as the current agreement was made in August 2008.  

The board of directors currently holds:

Name	Institute
Rögnvaldur Ólafsson, chairman	University of Iceland
Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir	University of Iceland
Guðrún Rósa Þórsteinsdóttir	University of Akureyri
Fjóla Björk Jónsdóttir	University of Akureyri
Guðrún Þóra Gunnarsdóttir	University of Hólar
Bjarnheiður Hallsdóttir	The Travel Industry Association
Oddný Þóra Óladóttir	The Icelandic Tourist Board

 

Registration now open!!

Having now received over 100 abstracts we would like to invite you to register on the conference webpage of the 19th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research (see: rmf.is/19thnordicsymposium). We remind you that the early bird registration fee (500 EUR) is valid till 30th June, then it will go up to 700 EUR.

For those registering as PhD students we remind you that the workshop is included in your fee and that you will be required to submit an extended version of your abstract and then a full paper (see conference webpage for details). We will be in touch with those registering as PhD students especially.  

Looking forward to seeing you in Akureyri

Edward, Gunnar and Jón Gestur