Having lived in Iceland, I have followed with interest the explosive growth in tourism there in the past few years. Iceland, like Chaffee County, has much natural beauty as well as recreational opportunities. People have traditionally come to Iceland for a peaceful nature experience as well as for recreational opportunities. Iceland is struggling with how growth in tourism (a desirable economic boon and job creator) can affect the environment and quality of experience of visitors. In their words from the link below “the goal is to ensure that tourism in Iceland becomes exemplary and to firmly establish the country as an attractive and sustainable destination for tourists in harmony with the landscape and its people”.
I e-mailed the Department of Tourism in Iceland and received a detailed reply from Maria Reynisdottir, a specialist with the department. She included a link to the “Road Map for Tourism in Iceland”, published in October 2015. This study is a good template and much like our Envision project, and many of its goals would have relevance to our Envision project. It is interesting to see the process of this study. (You might also be encouraged to visit Iceland, which I highly recommend.)
Topics dealt with in the study include – importance of gathering data for decisions, nature conservation, tourism carrying capacity, increased tourism as an economic driver, management of access, parking and camping restrictions, sustainability indicators, and education of visitors for safety and good etiquette. It is clear that coming up with solutions and strategies is an ongoing and sometimes difficult process.
Submitted by William Helms, Healthy Landscapes and Recreation team member.
Here is the link:
stjornstodin.is CLICK on the British flag in the top left corner after the link comes up to download a pdf version in English.