Journal Articles

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Renewable energy in wilderness landscapes: Visitors' perspectives
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2019-10-19) Tverijonaite E; Sæpórsdóttir AD; Ólafsdóttir R; Hall CM
Increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix is of crucial importance for climate change mitigation. However, as renewable energy development often changes the visual appearance of landscapes and might affect other industries relying on them, such as nature-based tourism, it therefore requires careful planning. This is especially true in Iceland, a country rich in renewable energy resources and a popular nature-based tourism destination. The present study investigated the potential impacts on tourism of the proposed Hverfisfljót hydropower plant by identifying the main attractions of the area as well as by analyzing visitors' perceptions, preferences and attitudes, and the place meanings they assign to the landscape of the area. The data for the study were collected using onsite questionnaire surveys, interviews with visitors to the area, open-ended diaries, and participant observation. The results reveal that the area of the proposed power plant is perceived as wilderness by its visitors, who seek environmental settings related to the components of a wilderness experience. Visitors were highly satisfied with the present settings and preferred to protect the area from development to ensure the provision of currently available recreational opportunities. The results further show that the proposed Hverfisfljót hydropower plant would reduce the attractiveness of the area to its visitors, degrade their wilderness experience, and therefore strongly reduce their interest in visiting the area. Moreover, the participants perceived the already developed lowlands of the country as more suitable for renewable energy development than the undeveloped highland areas, which is in line with the principles of smart practices for renewable energy development.
Sustainable Tourism Beyond BAU (Brundtlund as Usual): Shifting From Paradoxical to Relational Thinking?
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-06-03) Hall CM; Saarinen J
Tourism is a major economic activity and employment generator. According to the World Travel Tourism Council (2021), prior to the COVID-19 pandemic travel and tourism was an eight trillion-dollar industry that generated about 10 percent of the global GDP in 2019. Although global tourism was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of national and regional income as a result of the pandemic related mobility restrictions and resultant job loss, arguably have almost had a paradoxical effect in that tourism and hospitality has achieved greater public policy recognition because the impacts of COVID-19 have demonstrated just how economically important the tourism sector is.
Floating Away: The Impact of Hydroelectric Power Stations on Tourists’ Experience in Iceland
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2018-07-04) Sæpórsdóttir AD; Hall CM
It is of vital importance that nature-based tourist destinations maintain their natural resources in a sustainable way. Nature and wilderness are the main attractions for tourism in Iceland. The Central Highlands are uninhabited with little visible evidence of human influence except for some huts, gravel roads, and a small number of hydroelectric power plants. However, there are plans for further hydroelectric power development in the area. The Blanda Power Station was constructed in 1991 at the edge of the North Central Highlands. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among tourists in the area in the summer of 2016 with a total of 1078 answered questionnaires. The objective was to estimate the impact of the power station on the experience of tourists and to assess whether their attitude differs from that of tourists in locations where power plant construction has been proposed. The results show that the power plant infrastructure at Blanda, with the exception of transmission lines, does not seem to disturb the experience of the majority of tourists. Tourists at Blanda are also more positive towards power plants than at locations where there are no power plants but where they have been proposed.
Contested Development Paths and Rural Communities: Sustainable Energy or Sustainable Tourism in Iceland?
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2019-07-02) Sætórsdóttir AD; Hall CM
The Icelandic economy has transitioned from being dependent on fishing and agriculture to having tourism and refined aluminum as its main exports. Nevertheless, the new main industries still rely on the country's natural resources, as the power intensive industry uses energy from rivers and geothermal areas whereas tourism uses the natural landscape, where geysers, waterfalls and thermal pools are part of the attraction to visitors. Although both industries claim to contribute to sustainability they utilize the same resources, and land-use conflicts can be expected, illustrating the contestation that can occur between different visions and understandings of sustainability. This paper focuses on the attitudes of Icelandic tourism operators towards power production and proposed power plants using data from questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. Results show that the majority of Icelandic tourism operators assume further power utilization would be in conflict with nature-based tourism, and they are generally negative towards all types of renewable energy development and power plant infrastructure. Respondents are most negative towards transmission lines, reservoirs and hydro power plants in the country's interior Highlands. About 40% of the respondents perceive that existing power plants have negatively affected tourism, while a similar proportion think they had no impact. According to the respondents, the two industries could co-exist with improved spatial planning, management and inter-sectoral cooperation.

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