Drive tourism and rural tourism routes

Research on drive tourism and tourism routes in rural areas. The research, titled Drive Tourism off-the-beaten track, was aimed to capture the effect of tourist routes and road condition on tourist travel in rural areas. The research was based in the concepts of Drive Tourism, Travel Routes and Path Dependency. Its assumption was the role of transport systems in tourism mobilities flows and path dependency is both tourist travel and state infrastructure investments. 

It was conducted at two areas of the first branded Icelandic tourism route, the Arctic Coast way, in North Iceland. The two areas are Vatnsnes and Melrakkaslétta peninsulas, some of the most rural areas of Iceland.

Applying mixed methods of survey, survey-interviews and media content analysis as well as fieldwork and unstructured conversations at site, the research was directed at tourists travelling Vatnsnes and Melrakkaslétta in the summer of 2024.  

Research finding show that the Arctic Coast Way has not gained wide recognition among tourists travelling the Icelandic north and that tourists find the areas' gravel roads not entirely welcoming as well as opposing security hazards. Findings likewise show that while the two areas have much in common in regards to tourism and tourism development some strong differences can likewise be detected in regards to their conditions and by whom they are visited. 

The final report of the research and its findings is available here (Icelandic only).

The research was conducted by the ITRC with funding from the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration Research Fund.

Project leader: Þórný Barðadóttir