Icelandic Pledge

The Icelandic Pledge from Visit Iceland was a pioneer in not only educating visitors but also asking them to commit to travel safely and responsibly.

Iceland has also been a stand-out in visitor education that is fun and engaging – leveraging humor in their communications with a deft touch, a skill that many Destination Organizations find difficult.

Image courtesy of Go Iceland

The Icelandic pledge was launched in June 2017 to promote a positive visitor experience and reduce the negative impacts of mass tourism. The pledge includes eight points that ask tourists to consider the vulnerability of nature, be aware of changing weather conditions, and prioritize safety.

The Icelandic Academy

The Pledge grew out of a longer term commitment to visitor safety education. Visitors need to dress warmly and be aware of challenging weather in Iceland – a  remote volcanic island, located in the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle. Travelers who are not well equipped or smart about their travel decisions can quickly find their trip becoming challenging or even dangerous.  The Iceland Academy – a visitor safety education portal has long communicated safety messages in a smart, fun, and humorous manner.  Like the Icelandic Pledge, the visitor education asks visitors to “enroll” in the Iceland Academy and commit to learning and preparing to travel safely.

SaveTravel.is

This commitment to travel safety education is backed up by one of the most sophisticated visitor information platforms (safetravel.is) in the world for sharing real-time information with travelers – from road closures, weather conditions and volcanic eruptions. Visitors can access real-time, in depth information via a website and app. These education and information efforts are supported by well-trained and well-equipped response and rescue team around the island – teams that are visible in more risky visitor locations (eg: near to active volcanic areas) to help with educating visitors on how to have smart and safe experiences

Managing the impact of mass tourism has become a challenge with Iceland’s remarkable growth. Iceland has seen in the last 20 years one of the fastest expansions of its tourism economy of any developed country on earth. In a nation of just 380,000 residents, visitor arrivals have grown from 400,00 – around a 1:1 ratio vs. local residents, to around 2 million, more than 6 visitors for every local.

Visitor education is only one part of an expanding commitment to destination management and stewardship in Iceland. National sustainable tourism initiatives are being supported by increased resources for local destination management. The Icelandic  government through the Ministry of Culture & Business Affairs and the Icelandic Tourist Board provide significant support to the destination management (and marketing) work of the Regional DMOs. This is further supported by grant programs open to both public and private organizations for initiatives from expanding visitor trails to working with the community on managing visitors. Plus Iceland in 2024 has reinstated a special bed tax (paused during the COVID-19 pandemic) on visitors to better fund these sustainable tourism efforts.