Iceland Tourism
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Dec 6, 2023
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GEO2400: Human Geography Writing Assignment: Are You Following Me? The Role of Influencers in
Tourism
Traveling is my passion, but I must balance my desire to see the world with
an understanding that tourism is not always beneficial to the places I am
visiting. Inflated housing prices, overcrowding, pollution, loss of habitat,
and unequal reinvestment in communities are all outcomes of the travel
industry, yet many countries turn to tourism as a strategy for economic
development. With many places ignoring all the negative consequences
associated with the travel industry, it falls on us to think critically about
our actions.
A trend in travel is the rise of influencers on social media. What is an
influencer? It is a person who makes money through sponsorships by
promoting a product, or a place to their followers by describing it in
positive terms. Platforms, such as Instagram, have created search options
that allow users to follow specific hashtags, so it becomes a valuable
research tool when preparing for a trip. Some people estimate that the
average influencer makes between $10 and $80 per 1,000 followers per
post on Instagram, so it can be a lucrative business for some people
(Chang, 2019). Many argue that this trend is here to stay, because more
than 3 billion people will have access to social media by 2022. That means
developing partnerships between travel agencies and influencers will be
an important strategy to grow businesses. Indeed, Forbes Magazine
recognizes the potential and releases annual lists of the most influential
influencers across many different topics, including travel.
Because influencers are making money with their accounts, they try to be
trendy and unique to attract more followers with the idea that the
followers interact with advertisements that generate income for the
account owner. This has a direct impact on places, as we will see in this assignment, because if
influencers have a large following, they can determine the popularity of a new travel destination. One
such place is the European country of Iceland. Iceland is a young island (only about 15 million years old)
located in the North Atlantic between Greenland and Norway. The landscape of much of the island is
shaped by the presence of volcanoes and glaciers, so it creates many fragile ecosystems with unique
plants and animals. Additionally, it allows scientists to study how new landforms are colonized by plants
and animals. Because of the volcanic activity, there are many beautiful mountains, beaches, and
waterfalls. Vikings settled on the island in the 800s and established the world’s oldest continuous
parliament. Today, the population of the country is below 400,000 people, with most Icelanders living
around the capital city, Reykjavik. Icelanders enjoys high standards of living compared to the rest of the
world and work hard to preserve their culture and their unique landscape.
Instructions
In this assignment, you are going to use the country of Iceland as a case study to understand some of the
outcomes that come from the presence of influencers in the travel industry. Not only that, but I want to
give you some experience with qualitative data collection. For you to be successful with this assignment,
1
Picture 1.
Influencers use
social platforms like
Instagram to display the
perfect shot. It has changed
how people travel because
people want to recreate
these scenes.
I think it will be useful to approach this assignment in a particular order. I would recommend reading
through the questions before you begin, so you have an idea what to look for.
Step 1: You are going to begin with
"I'll Show You", by Justin Bieber.
This song was released in 2015 and is
widely credited with inspiring travel to Iceland. Some people also suggest that some of the behaviors
seen in the video are dangerous and disrespectful to Iceland’s unique landscape and people, including
standing on the edge of a cliff, and being in the river in only his undergarments. While you’re watching
the video, identify three things, or characteristics, that make Iceland appealing to travelers (Question 1).
Map 1 provides the names of the locations featured in the music video except for
Sólheimasandur Beach
where the wreckage of the plane can be seen. Reykjavik is the capital city.
Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss
are waterfalls. Dyrhólaey is a massive (and terrifying) cliff. Fjaðrárgljúfur
is a canyon. Jökulsárlón is a bay
filled with icebergs from a nearby glacier.
Map 1. Locations in “I’ll Show You”
Step 2: You are going to examine the tourism statistics in Table 1 to understand the changes that have
occurred in Iceland over the last few years. The table shows the number of international visitors who
spend at least one night in Iceland, followed by the amount of money generated by the tourists. Finally,
the table displays how much of the Icelandic economy relies on tourist dollars.
Table 1. Tourism Statistics for Iceland
(Source: UN World Tourism Organization)
Year
Number of
International Visitors
Total Annual Revenue
($)
Percent of Total Gross
Domestic Product*
2011
560,000
$750,000,000
3.6%
2013
870,000
$1,100,000,000
4.6%
2015
1,255,000
$1,650,000,000
6.1%
2
2017
2,225,000
$3,024,000,000
8.6%
2019
2,005,000
$2,745,000,000
8.4%
*This is a measure of the direct contribution of international visitors to the national economy. It is the total amount of expenditures (things like
hotels, car rentals, transportation into the country) of international visitors as a percentage of the total economic value of Iceland.
Step 3: As you can see from Table 1, there was a large increase in the number of visitors after the release
of the music video in 2015. Justin Bieber is an easy target when it comes to understanding destructive
behaviors in tourism, because of his actions in the music video. Read through the following articles to
understand some of the negative outcomes of tourism in Iceland:
An article from the Independent in the UK.
An article from the BBC in the UK.
An article from CNN in the US.
An article from Reykjavik Grapevine in Iceland.
Facebook group about bad tourists in Iceland.
Step 4: Now it is time to collect some data. You are going to use Instagram to fill in Table 3. You will begin
by using the search bar and typing in Iceland. The default option should be set to show the tab called
“Top”. These are photos that are either promoted, or highly engaged with by other users (see left side of
image below). The other tab you will use for this assignment is “Tags” and you will select #iceland (see
right side of image below).
In each tab you will scan the first 103 photos (that is 33 rows).
You will look
for: waterfalls, black sand beaches, mountains, volcanoes, cities, and other scenes that don’t fit into
those categories. Additionally, you will document if you see an influencer and/or bad behavior. Bad
behavior is up to you define but consider using the information you saw in the articles in the previous
step.
3
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Questions
1.
After watching “I’ll Show You”, by Justin Bieber:
a.
Identify three things, or characteristics, of Iceland that you find appealing.
-
The tall, beautiful waterfall that is shown throughout the video.
-
All the glaciers in the water near the end of the video.
-
At 1:14 there was a clip of these two cliffs with a river flowing between them.
b.
Explain how you think the selected characteristics could be used by influencers to attract
people to Iceland.
-
In the beginning he was walking on the edge of the cliff and in the end, he went swimming in the
water with all the glaciers. This could have inspired/influenced people to want to take more risks
and participate in more adventurous activities. A lot of times when celebrities do things like this,
fans will want to “recreate” what they are doing.
2.
The number of tourists staying in Iceland has grown tremendously since 2015. Using the
calculator found here,
(initial value is the earlier year) calculate the percent change in
international visitors and annual revenue. Report your numbers here:
Table 2. Percent Change in Icelandic Tourism Statistics
Time frame
% change in visitors
% change in revenue
2015-2017
77.2908%
83.2727%
4
2011-2019
258.0357%
266%
3.
Table 3 contains the two tabs as row names and eight column names. The first six column names
are characteristics you will see in the photos, while the last two column names are for the
presence of an influencer, or the presence of bad behavior.
a.
While you are scanning the first 103 photos in each tab, please document each time you
see the characteristics across the top by selecting one of the first six characteristics per
photo.
For example, if after scanning all 103 photos in the Top tab you found 45 waterfalls, then
you would add 45 to the cell where waterfalls and Top intersect.
In some cases, you will notice that there is an influencer and/or bad behavior. When that
is the case, make an additional mark under the appropriate column name. For example,
if you see a photo in the Top tab that has an influencer and a waterfall, you will add 1 to
each of those cells.
Table 3. The Top Travel Influencers
Instagram
Tab
Waterfalls
Black
Sand
Beach
Mountain
s
Volcanoes
City
Other
Scenes
Influence
r
Bad
Behavior
Top
38
26
42
11
6
32
10
1
Tags
26
49
3
18
11
7
2
4.
Without knowing it, you just engaged in qualitative data collection. You watched a video and
identified three characteristics that were appealing, then you used Instagram to collect data
from photos.
a.
Were the three characteristics you described from question 1 present in your data
collection for Table 3?
Yes, they were. There were plenty of waterfalls in both the top page and the tags.
Additionally, there were a lot of glaciers and mountains with rivers.
b.
Briefly discuss some of the most disturbing events to come from the articles in step
three.
One of the things I found the most interesting was a post on the Facebook page of a bunch
of children getting hit by a wave on a black sand beach. This specifically caught my eye since I
have been to Iceland before and visited a black sand beach. There was a large caution sign
before entering which basically told us how the beach has “sneaker waves”. These are surprise
waves that will happen which will engulf people who are standing to close to the water. This is
very scary since the water gets very deep very fast so there have been instances before where
people have drowned. I made sure to enjoy the beauty of this site from a far due to the risk.
c.
Based on your data, is it fair to place blame on influencers for the problems in Iceland?
Explain. Be sure to justify your response with evidence from Table 3.
I think they do certainly deserve partial blame for their actions. Their job as influencers is to
influence people which can be great if used appropriately. However, when you’re standing at the
edge of a cliff or standing to close to the water then it will influence other people to do that
which is not good.
For example, all the bad behaviors from Table 3 came from influencers.
5.
In addition to Justin Bieber’s music video, several other influences appeared that help draw
people to Iceland. A discount airline called WoW offered flights for as low as $140 roundtrip
between North America and Iceland. Game of Thrones began filming in several locations across
Iceland.
5
a.
Many people argue that countries should not rely on tourism as a major development
strategy for their economies. Do you agree with this (Hint: the tourism statistics may be
useful)?
b.
Why, or why not?
While tourism can be a wonderful thing for the economy, I think it is important to not
rely on it too much. Due to certain statistics, the numbers can be very fluctuating which
demonstrates it is not always reliable.
Update on Iceland: WoW Air collapsed, Game of Thrones has stopped filming, Justin
Bieber has stopped being popular in Iceland, and post-Covid tourism statistics have
dropped to pre-2012 levels.
c.
What can Iceland do to minimize the negative outcomes of tourism?
Having visited Iceland in my life, I think it is important to be very cautious when visiting
there. It is a country like no other and has many beautiful sights however, too many people
are taking risks and are being careless with the nature. By having more safety precautions,
such as a gate or railing around the edge of a cliff, could potentially help in minimizing
negative outcomes within tourism. Or somehow reaching out to influencers and telling them
to be careful with the things they post about the nature.
Sources
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/alexander-tikhomirov-travel-influencer-
instagram-land-cruiser-iceland-fine-a8943056.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48703462
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/lifestyle/travel/instagram-travel-influencers/
https://www.forbes.com/top-influencers/2017/travel/#3ec53afa6d04
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/travel-influencers/index.html
https://www.fodors.com/worlds-best/influencers
https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/social-media-influencers
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/iceland-canyon-closing-overtourism-justin-bieber/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGaX8G0f2E&feature=youtu.be
6
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