In Iceland it all started. Alli 51 Trips was born, or rather, there caught the flame of wanting to freeze the desire to travel through albums and trip planners. Two years later, and with a pandemic in between, we returned to get caught up in its immensity, although this time we are not going to talk about 51 Things You Can Do, but rather how to do them from a sustainable prism. Indeed, we are talking about responsible tourism.

This post is not intended to be instructive in any case, quite the contrary: we hope that after reading, Iceland can benefit in some way from good tourism practices. Before tackling them, you have to understand them, and to understand them you have to have context and perspective. Here's the data.

Iceland: a destination used to receiving millions of tourists a year

In 2019, the world experienced the greatest tourism dynamics in history: almost 1.5 billion international tourists. Of that cake, Iceland accounted for more than 2 million, a figure that somehow already anticipates a recurring phenomenon in highly sought after tourist destinations: Overtourism. The overload of tourists in a place or country has a direct impact on the destination in question, so we must travel responsibly. In this case, we must not lose sight of the fact that Iceland is the least populated country in Europe

We are increasingly aware of this, and this is something more than our own Icelandic Tourism Office He already gave a glimpse a few years ago. According to a survey conducted in recent years, the 61% of foreign tourists visitors to the island stated that their choice of tourist services company was motivated by recognized quality certification. In addition, 72% said that environmental certification was important or very important in their decision-making. Being aware is the first step.

Good tourist practices to take care of Iceland

As we said, the second step is in practice. Glaciers are melting because of the global increase in temperature, but at the same time traveling to Iceland without flying is unthinkable. How do we approach the scenario? Unfortunately, the impact of tourism is not only reduced to climate change, but to many other fronts that are in our hands. Here are some of them:

Seasonality and areas of concentration:

Iceland is a giant island, and the truth is that there are areas that are very uncrowded. It is not a country that you can approach in a few days, much less in a weekend, so the first good practice is, paradoxically, to spend more time in the country. With this premise, areas will tend to naturally deconcentrate

Respect roads and off-road driving:

Dealing with the thrill of exploring and discovering new areas is no easy task for a desert destination like Iceland, but keep in mind that roads are there to protect both people and nature. Driving in the open field is strictly prohibited in Iceland precisely because of the potential harm it can cause to wildlife.

Although volcanoes, geothermal areas and lava fields have the appearance of wild, resistant and colossal nature, they are actually very vulnerable.

Avoid building piles of stones:

In Iceland, there are lots of perfectly erected stones that historically served to mark walkers' routes so they wouldn't get lost. Here the problem is obvious: with the exponential growth of tourism, the practice of replicating these piles has spread to such an extent that it has seriously affected the country in terms of cultural heritage.

A clear case is the one suffered in the area of Laufskalavarda, a place where a farm was located that was destroyed in 894 due to the eruption of the Katla volcano. From there started the tradition of piling stones to “not suffer the same fate as the poor farmers of that time”.

Don't step on the moss:

Icelandic moss takes decades to grow. It is very fragile and delicate, so lying on it or camping in areas where it is predominant is not a good practice. From there we jumped to the camping spots where, in this sense, the choice must always be determined by their officiality.

It should be noted that Iceland is one of the countries that has made the most successful transition from the use of coal and oil to renewable energy. In this sense, the country itself is an example of how to live respectfully with nature, always in pursuit of sustainability. Below we leave you with our Iceland Trip Planner, where you will also find information on how to travel respectfully across the length and breadth of this island.

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