Residents‘ attitudes of tourism in Iceland: A national study 2019

Tourism development can be both an enabling as well as a threatening force for the well-being of local communities. Thus, it is important to explore local views on cohabiting with tourists and how tourism development impacts residents’ quality of life.

Three studies of residents' attitudes of tourism have been conducted nationally in Iceland. The first two were conducted in 2014 and 2017. The latest survey was conducted in the autumn of 2019 by The Icelandic Tourism Research Centre on behalf of the Icelandic Tourist Board. All studies were telephone surveys.

The aim of the survey was to assess the attitudes of Icelanders to tourism and tourists at a specific time, both nationally and by individual regions. In addition, evidence was sought as to whether Icelanders feel pressure from tourism in their community.

A comprehensive report containing results and analysis on national level was published. The report contains analyzes of the data collected in the autumn of 2019 as well as comparisons with previous national surveys from 2017 and 2014. The report can be found here.

Seven regional reports that summarize the survey results for each of the seven regions are available in Icelandic on the Icelandic Tourist Board's website and can be found below:

East-Iceland
Reykjavík and Capital area
North-Iceland
South-Iceland
Reykjanes Peninsula
Westfjords
West-Iceland

 

Results from 2014 and 2017 can be found here

 

Project manager: Eyrún Jenný Bjarnadóttir - ejb[at]hi.is.