Iceland 2024
Compromise for Authenticity
Compromise for Chains Iceland prides itself on being a land of authentic experience, whatever that means. You won’t find globalized brands such as Starbucks or McDonalds. In fact, you can still view the last sold Big Mac in a hotel display. Authenticity is an interesting term though, because tourists “arrive and experience the location through […]
Almannaréttur: The Right to Roam in Iceland
Like other Nordic countries, the Icelandic law, Almannaréttur, stipulates that all people have the right to travel and freedom to roam across the country, so as long as they are cautious to not damage natural resources and landscapes. This law ensures the general public’s right to cross public or uncultivated private property, including land, rivers, […]
Is Sustainable Tourism even possible when tourism grows 6 times the population?
Hey everyone! My name is Audrey, and this is your first time visiting the “Otherworldly Iceland: Culture, Environment and Tourism blog welcome. For those who have been reading daily, welcome back, I have been fortunate to be one of the 15 students on this fantastic J-Term trip to learn and critique tourism in Iceland. As […]
Iceland: A Culture of Concern
Iceland is home to 370,000 residents, visited by over 2 million tourists each year. That’s roughly 5 tourists per Icelandic resident, mainly focused in the city center of Reykjavik. These numbers not only suggest an increased amount of strain on the country as a whole, but cause new concerns relating to Iceland’s culture and sustainability. […]
An Unexpected Way of Communicating: Graffiti in Reykjavik City Center
"E.U. Murdered Migrants" There are so many things to see while in the city center of Reykjavik, and as you may have read in one of my classmates’ blogs we’ve been exploring the idea of “who is this here for?”. Is it for residents? Or is this here for tourists? There are shops and restaurants […]
Embrace Your Inner Explorer: How Iceland’s Marketing and Accommodations Have Fostered ‘Binge Tourism’
Hi there! Welcome to the blog for “Otherwordly Iceland: Culture, Environment and Tourism in a Globalized Age.” My name is Victor Solano, and I am one of the students fortunate enough to embark on this journey to explore Iceland and sustainable tourism. Throughout the week, we have spent our time in Reykjavik, the nation’s […]
Environment, Culture, and Tourism in Iceland
My name is Jorge Koenen and I am currently a junior at Gustavus. Here I will share my key experiences and observations from my time in Iceland this JTerm that will aim to analyze certain aspects of customs and culture. To prepare for our JTerm abroad in Iceland, we were assigned various readings, visuals such […]
Record and Run: The Digital Age of Icelandic Tourism
Online presence has morphed into an integral part of selling and experiencing tourism in the 21st Century. Since arriving in Iceland for this J-Term course, I’ve been constantly experiencing the digital age’s impact on Iceland’s tourism firsthand through observing and participating in tourism at Reykjavik’s urban landscape and the Golden Circle’s iconic natural and cultural […]
Sustainable Tourism From the Perspective of the Traveler
The concept of international tourism is a unique and subjective experience that looks different for every individual. When Americans get the travel itch and decide to open up their computers and google possible destinations, it’s clear why many have decided to book their tickets with Icelandair. Iceland has quickly become one of the most popular […]
Intentional and Unintentional Authenticity
Hello, my name is Amelia Pluth and I am a junior at GAC, welcome to my blog! Today in Reykjavik, we were fortunate enough to be able to explore the various museums of the city. The museums I have gone to include the National Museum of Iceland, The House of Collections, The Icelandic Phalloogical Museum, […]