Vest Norden 27. september 2012

I welcome you all to Iceland.
Tourism plays an important role in the economy of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Tourism has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in our country, and in round figures the pattern has been that the number of visitors from abroad has doubled every ten years for the past half century. In 1962, just over 17,000 tourists visited Iceland; in 1982 the figure reached 72,600. In 2002 we welcomed nearly 278,000 visitors, and this year we expect the number to break the 600,000 mark – in other words, almost two visitors for each inhabitant of the country.
This huge increase in tourism has brought a wealth of opportunities. Tourism now yields us about the same as fishing or power-intensive industry in terms of foreign currency earnings. But this bounty also brings us complications and questions: the main challenge is how best to ensure that all these people will have the experience they are seeking when they visit Iceland, whether their aim is to see our rugged wildernesses or our flourishing cultural life. One of our chief concerns is also how to extend what is normally thought of as the tourist season and to make Iceland in winter no less attractive than Iceland in summer.
The natural environment here in the high north is both sensitive and unpredictable. It is not long since the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull played havoc with air travel in Europe and elsewhere – and gave many people in the travel industry cause for concern! But when the ash settled, it came to light yet once again that our special position, and our main opportunity, lies precisely in the capriciousness of the elements in a land that can be by turns sunny and welcoming or cold and overpowering.
In this delicate atmosphere, the Vestnorden Travel Mart is extremely important to travel and tourism in Iceland – as in the Faeroe Islands and in Greenland. You who have gathered here are the ones who maintain the travel industry in these three West Nordic countries.

A traveller who visits two or more of our countries is truly enriched by the experience and gains insight and knowledge that he or she would be unlikely to come by in any other way. But in order for this enriching experience to take place, there must be reliable transport within the region. We are constantly on the watch for ways to improve transport and facilities in the West Nordic area, and the airlines in our countries have been at the forefront of these efforts with their attempts to develop better air transport. For example flights between Iceland and Greenland have increased considerable for the last years with great importance for both countries.

As we assemble here at Vestnorden Travel Mart, I would like, first of all, to welcome our guests from the tourism business who have travelled a long way to participate. I also wish to thank the people who have worked so hard to organise this trade show here in Reykjavík.

Steingrímur J. Sigfússon,
Minister of Industries and Innovation