ETHICAL

Natural Disasters: Real Force Majeure for Tourism

Natural disasters – floods,

rains, earthquakes, volcano
eruptions – impact immensely
the tourism industry of the
affected destinations. Learn
about the Valtellina Flood, tsu-
nami, Machu Picchu’s troubles
with rain as well as the volca-
noes in Iceland.
 eTHICAL Natural Dis a s t e r s : R e a l F o r c e M a j e u r e f o r To u r i s m

The Valtellina Flood: Destroying

Roads, Rails and Tourism
Valtellina is the common name used for the
Alpine province of Sondrio, in Northern Italy.
This long valley became very famous in the
summer of 1987, when a huge flood hit the
whole area. An incredibly warm summer
caused the glaciers to release a great quantity
of water, which summed up to exceptionally
heavy storms (the rainfall of two months fell in
just three days).
As a result, the rivers broke the banks, sub-
merging villages and destroying roads and
rails. There were fifty-three casualties and
damages for an estimated 2 billion euro. Some
landslides occurred too – the biggest one bur-
ied Sant'Antonio Morignone and three other
villages just south from Bormio under forty-
million cubic metres (more than 1.4 billion
cubic feet) of rocks and earth, virtually cutting
off the upper part of the valley.

Not All Publicity Is Good Publicity...

Needless to say, this disaster attracted the
attention of media. The coverage didn't repre-
sent very good advertising though. Of course,
the zone wasn't in a “business-as-usual” situ-
ation, but virtually all the tourist areas were
intact, albeit more difficult to reach. This was
the case of resorts like Madesimo and Val-
malenco, whereas Bormio and Livigno and the
whole Upper Valtellina, albeit unharmed, were

Januar y, 2011 — 26 —

isolated from the rest of Italy (but could be
reached through Switzerland). Many reports
on this disaster were 'spiced up' and impre-
cise, to say the least – risking to ruin the good
publicity linked to the 1985 Fis Ski World Cup
hosted in Bormio.
Good Prices against Prejudice
The local tourist office reacted quickly. After
a very short time, two information points were
set up on the road leading to the valley, in
order to try and save the summer season by
giving honest, up-to-date information on the
current situation and on alternative routes. A
second wave of bad weather, though, compro-
mised this objective, and put the winter sea-
son in danger.
Works started for the number-one priority (a
road link with the Upper Valtellina through the
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area ravaged by the landslide, which opened
on 21st December that year), whereas the
local tourist bodies decided to launch a heavy
advertising campaign on newspapers and TV
channels – mostly in Italy and Germany – with
the agreement of the regional and national
authorities.
“Forza Valtellina” (“Go Valtellina”) was the
campaign's slogan. It was one of the first exam-
ples of an image rescue campaign for a resort,
funded by an emergency measure just weeks
after the disaster occurred.
The main lever used to save tourism was rep-
resented by discounts on services (lift pass,
thermal spas and shops). Accommodation
prices were left untouched, as it was believed
that lowering them would decrease the per-
ceived value of the resorts, with a long-term
negative effect. The “Valtellina Card” was cre-
— 27 —
ated, with, among other things, a 50% reim-
bursement of the weekly lift pass in the most
affected towns (30% for the other ones).
Convincing Tourists and Skeptics
A8-page insert was included in the most
important magazines (no less than 6 million
copies over 4 weeks). Heavy discounts on nor-
mal advertising fees were obtained, mainly
through personal contacts. Therefore an invest-
ment of 2 million euro created a campaign
with a much higher value (7-9 million euro,
say some estimates). Attention by the political
world was strong, with many authorities visit-
ing the area and some of them actually making
last minute decisions to spend their summer
holidays in Upper Valtellina just after the flood.
Support also came from Standa, a famous
chain of department stores which organized
special contests among its customers.
Not everybody, though, believed in the suc-
cess of these measures – for example, the
lift owner in Bormio didn't want to open that
winter. He was convinced through bank guar-
antees signed by local operators who agreed
to cover any loss which might occur. Luckily for
them, they didn't have to pay anything, as the
season went so well, with an actual increase in
the lift passes sold!
The authorities seized all possible occasions
to promote the province, even in the following
years. Among the many initiatives, a 1,000 sq.
m. pavilion during the 1988 trade fair in Milan
was open. Another way to have positive media
coverage came from sport events, such as the
Fis Ski World Cup races or the Giro d'Italia bicy-
cle competition.
 eTHICAL Natural Dis a s t e r s : R e a l F o r c e M a j e u r e f o r To u r i s m
The Legacy after 23 Years
Nearly all traces of the flood have now dis-
appeared – except for the scar left by the big
landslide, which is still visible. The road sys-
tem is now more comfortable, thanks also to
big investments by the central government
through a special act of law, the 1990 “Legge
Valtellina”. More than 1.2 billion euro financed
roads, infrastructure and other projects.
All in all, the name of Valtellina is now bet-
ter known than it used to be before, whereas
the 1987 disaster is almost forgotten – and the
sense of unity among tourist operators which
characterized the months after the flood has
also somewhat faded.

The author wishes to thank Gianni Confortola,

Mario Cotelli and Credito Valtellinese for the pre-
cious information provided.
By Adriano Pedrana
Adriano Pedrana is, among other things, journalist and
promoter for Livigno and Valtellina.
http://www.pedrana.it

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Tsunami’s Effects on Tourism

Tourism companies sell Asian nature and cul-
tural landscapes to their customers. Asia is a
land rich in different cultures, which is what
makes traveling there so appealing. South and
Southeast Asia sits along the Indian Ocean, a
warm, inviting, and relaxing place to be. This
was the case until the earthquake off the coast
of Sumatra caused a tsunami along the coast
on December 26, 2004.
Asian governments were urging Western
tourists not to change their travel plans. Tour-
ism plays an important economic role in these
countries, and in some cases accounts for
more than half of the country's income. Many
tourists have been frightened about traveling
to this part of the world since the tsunami hit.
Over 7,000 tourists are said to have died from
the disaster, and nearly 500 are missing. More
than half of the death toll came from the coun-
try of Sweden, which lost 3,559 citizens to the
tsunami.

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Imagine sitting on the beach without a worry

in the world, when suddenly the ocean's water
drains outward at an incredible rate. Would
you be intrigued to find out what happened,
and venture into the area where fish are now
flopping around, or where there are many sea
shells and other sea creatures suddenly vis-
ible? That is what many tourists did, and that
is how many of their lives were taken. Curiosity
got the best of them, while some indigenous
peoples knew better and sought refuge in the
mountains.
Indian Ocean resorts had been experienc-
ing a good tourist season. Most tourists
come from European countries and Austra-
lia. The area had been avoided for sometime
after the Bali bombings, Iraq invasion, and
the threat of SARS. After these problems
had begun to lessen, the tsunami suddenly
brought more worry to the tourism indus-
tries of the region.

Indonesia
Indonesia was hit badly by the disaster, but
hardest hit was northern Sumatra. This region
is not a viable tourist hot spot, like other islands
in the country (such as Bali and Lombok), due
to an on-going civil war. The country hoped
to actually increase its tourist count because
most of its land was unharmed by the disaster,
but tourist counts fell by 16% from the month
of December to January. The previous year,
tourist counts were down just 2% between the
two months.
Indonesia depends on its tourism industry for
about U.S. $5 billion per year and Bali accounts

Januar y, 2011 — 30 —
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for about 60% of that income. Bali's tour-

ism had suffered from previous years mostly
because of terrorist bombings and the threat
of SARS. Bali was not affected physically by the
tsunami, but has been affected economically.

Thailand
Hotels, restaurants, and other travel busi-
nesses claim that the tsunami and aftershock
had no long term impacts on Phuket's booking
and arrivals, but one source states that there
was a 27% drop in tourism.
"It's 99 percent operational now," Simon J.
Hand, a Phuket resident who is associate edi-
tor of Asia-Pacific Tropical Homes magazine,
said in late March. "At its worst, it was 90 per-
cent operational. Patong Beach is the main
tourist trap, and the wave hit everything along
the shorefront road. But 150 yards farther up,
even the next day, you wouldn't have known
anything happened."
The Bangkok Phuket Hospital is working to
Sri Lanka island, but the strategy has had only limited
bring tourism back to the country. It claims
success. Many areas remain in such bad shape
that now is the time to visit Thailand, since Sri Lanka was hardest hit in the southern that they offend the sensibilities of visitors
there are many special deals at hotels and regions. At first, workers in the tourism indus- who come in search of poolside relaxation."
restaurants. Now, during the high season, the try were upset at what appeared to be a lack
beaches are not over-crowded. The beaches of sympathy from tourists. Seeing tourists About 800,000 people depend on the tour-
are now cleaner than they have ever been due laughing and enjoying themselves was tough, ist industry either directly or indirectly in Sri
to cleanup efforts after the tsunami. Tourism considering many of the workers had lost their Lanka. "Hotels across the country are running
websites assert that the best way to help the homes, families, and possessions to the tsu- an average at 20% capacity, even thought 80%
area recover is to simply visit it! They also try nami. Tourism is the fourth largest industry in of them were untouched by the disaster"
to lure some people in with saying Sri Lanka, so when the industry started to slide,
feelings were pushed aside to and more efforts India
"We are ready for tourists that want to use
our service like plastic surgery, dental treat- were made to bring more people to the island. It seems that India's tourism industry was
ments, or eye LASIK at TRSC at a fraction of the "The Tourism Ministry has begun a $6 million not as badly hit as other countries. Most tour-
price in most western countries." marketing campaign to lure visitors back to the ist areas are along the Arabian Sea, while the

Januar y, 2011 — 31 —
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Bay of Bengal supports local fisheries. There
is one large commercial destination, Chennai
(formerly Madras), on the eastern coast of
India that was hit hard. About 650,000 peo-
ple were displaced in this area. Areas worst
affected were the islands that are closest to
the epicenter, which lie on the tip of India.
"Indira Point, which was India's southern-
most tip and a 100-sq km island, has just dis-
appeared into the ocean... Although there
were some tourists and Andaman & Nicobar
Islands were being positioned to become the
next Maldives, these plans will now need to be
shelved, as there has been huge loss of coral
and other marine life. Loss along India’s main
coastline was concentrated on some regions
and recovery and re-habilitation work is cur-
rently ongoing."
The tourism outlook for India remains strong
as its hotspots were not severely damaged,
except for the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
They also hope to bring in more tourists that
would have otherwise gone to Thailand and
Malaysia.
Let's Bring the Tourists Back!
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) is working to find a solution in bring-
ing tourists back to the area. ASEAN is a group
of 10 member countries in Southeast Asia.
Members are working together to lure tourists
into not only their own countries, but to South-
east Asia as a whole. They have been invit-
ing international travel writers and sending
promotional video clips to potential tourists.
ASEAN is also working to create more tourism
amongst its own citizens to offset the loss from
foreign travelers.
Governments maintain that their countries are
safe for travelers and if anyone truly wants to
help, they can start by reviving their tourist econ-
omies. ASEAN is also working to make beaches
safer, for example, there have been talks of set-
ting up a tsunami early-warning system.
The countries understand that there is a psy-
chological reason that tourists have not chosen
them as destinations in recent months, but are
optimistic that the effects of the tsunami will
not be long-term and tourists will return soon.
(Text shortened)

Sources
Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2005/03/02/ap1857187.html
Taipei Times : http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/01/25/2003220882
Bertand's Weblog: http://www.codeconsult.ch/bertrand/archives/2005_01.html
7,000 foreign tourists killed in tsunami: Hindustand Times.com:
   http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1178745,001301540000.htm
Tsunami Recovery: Tourism in Asia Starts Back: http://goasia.about.com/od/thailand/a/tsunamirecovery.htm
Tsunami Wave-an Economic Tourist Disaster-Saturday, 8th January 2005 at 4 Hoteliers:
   http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=51

By Jennifer De Vries (devriejj@uwec.edu)

http://academic.evergreen.edu

Januar y, 2011 — 32 —
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Emergency: Tourism is often described as a fragile industry

in that demand for travel is highly susceptible
to numerous factors. Nevertheless, for many

Machu Picchu Closed

countries the tourism sector is an important
contributor to the economy. Especially in some
less economically developed countries the
local economy is dependent upon and greatly
relies upon the tourism industry. One of the
most unforeseeable forces affecting tourism
are natural disasters. Natural disasters can
have a tremendous impact on tourism as they
usually destroy the natural environment and
infrastructure and thus tourism is significantly
disrupted. Additionally, natural disasters more
often than not cause an increase in tourists’
concerns about security and safety.
In late January 2010 Peru’s south-eastern
region, the Cusco area, experienced heavy
torrential rains which forced a two month clo-
sure of Peru’s top tourist attraction, the Inca
Citadel of Machu Picchu. The Urubamba River,
which runs down past the Inca ruins on Machu
Picchu, swelled to an unexpected volume
of water and up to 20,000 people had their
homes destroyed by the floods. According to
The Economist, officials predicted a damage of
$240m to infrastructure and farming.
Machu Picchu with the pre-Columbian Inca
site is one of the most popular tourist desti-
nations in South America and normally some
68,000 people a month come to visit the ruins.
Locals depend on those tourists, who reach
the site either by walking along the Inca Trail,
or via train.
The Machu Picchu railway, which carried
about 2,200 tourists a day was destroyed by
the floods and the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu

Januar y, 2011 — 33 —

were cut of from the lower sites. The heavy
rains forced the evacuation of thousands of
tourists from Machu Picchu. As the Cusco
region accounts for a high percentage of the
country’s tourism revenue, Peru was facing
fears of a tourism decline resulting from the
natural disaster. In fact, thousands of foreign
tourists cancelled their holidays to Peru. The
inaccessibility of Machu Picchu caused a loss
of at least a million dollars a day for the Peru-
vian tourism industry.
Bartolome Campana, director of the National
Chamber of Tourism, highlighted the impor-
tance of the tourism sector for Peru when he
admitted that the country is dependent on
tourism. The government reacted quickly and
launched a campaign to deal with the destruc-
tion. To help the tourism industry, government
cut off prices. Domestic tourists were offered
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half-price flights and hotel rooms to visit Cusco,
the city nearest the world-famous Machu Pic-
chu.
According to the World Travel and Tourism
Council, the tourism revenues represent a
highly significant 7.4 percent of the country’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and therefore
great losses in this sector would affect thou-
sands of jobs. The Peruvians seemed to have
recognized the problem that was highlighted
by the crisis – Peru’s over-dependence on
Machu Picchu for the tourism sector.
BBC Online anticipated that “the number of
holidays cancelled by European, Japanese and
US tourists is clear evidence that for almost
all first-time travellers to Peru, it's Machu Pic-
chu or bust”. Thus, the country decided to
seize the opportunity and to diversify its tour-
Nevertheless, Peru seems to be back on
ism sector in both the short and long term.
track. Shortly after the floods the govern-
Officials tried to encourage visitors to explore
ment estimated that despite the difficulties,
different parts of Peru such as the Nazca lines about 2.2 million tourists would travel to Peru
and the Colca canyon. Other attractions in in 2010. With its main attraction, the Machu
the Cusco region that have been promoted to Picchu, and the initiative to diversify and also
keep people coming to Peru were Sacsayhua- promote other attractions Peru is likely to hold
mán fortress, the Coricancha sun temple or and maybe even improve its position as one of
the town of Pisac. the top South American travel destinations.
The re-opening of Machu Picchu at the In the end it clearly shows how important
beginning of April 2010 was of symbolic and crisis management is in tourism, especially if
economic importance to Peru. Peru's Tour- tourism is such an essential part of the coun-
ism Minister Martin Perez estimated a loss of try’s economy. But it also demonstrates that
$185m (£122m) for the time the Machu Picchu relying on a single attraction that acts as a pil-
was closed. And according to Richard Leon, lar of a whole industry can have tremendous
Director of the travel company Peru For Less, impacts in times of global warming and an
the natural disaster has been more disruptive increase in natural disasters.
to Peru’s tourism industry than the financial
crisis and the swine flu combined. By Wiebke Wohlfahrt
— 34 —

Crisis Management:
Eyjafjallajokull Eruption
Mt. Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland
wreaked havoc on Europe’s air transport sys-
tem and threatened to turn off the steady
number of foreign tourists expected to visit
Iceland in 2010. Tourism stakeholders in Ice-
land, alarmed by twenty percent drop in visi-
tor numbers in April and May compared to the
previous year, got together and pooled their
efforts in a joint marketing campaign named
Inspired by Iceland.
The eruption claimed no lives and no homes
were destroyed. A column of extremely fine
grain ash rose high up in the sky where wind
picked it up and blew it out to sea. Eventually
the ash reached Britain and Ireland, mainland
Europe and Scandinavia and airports in those
areas were temporarily shut for passenger
safety reasons.
A distinction must be made between two
separate eruptions in and around Mt. Eyjafjal-
lajokull in 2010. The first one took place on the
Fimmvorduhals Pass and the second one which
produced the ash took place under the icecap
near the top of Mt. Eyjafjallajokull.
Fimmvorduhals Pass Eruption
On 20 March 2010 a volcanic fissure opened
on Fimmvorduhals Pass (1,100 m) between
Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers.
Although geologists had been monitoring the
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area for a while prior to the eruption there had
been no clear indication of an imminent erup-
tion.
Standard precautionary acts included the
immediate closure of airports. Some 800 peo-
ple living in the vicinity of the mountain were
summoned to leave their homes for the night
for safety reasons. In hindsight those pre-
cautionary measures were unnecessary but
made it into the news worldwide thus rais-
ing an alarm amongst individuals and school
groups about to visit the country. As a result
many postponed their visit to Iceland until fall
while others gave up on the idea of visiting all
together.
— 35 —
It is a bit ironic that at the same time as for-
eign visitors cancelled their trip to Iceland many
locals and some brave foreign visitors flocked
to the eruption to see it in action at close quar-
ters. It was a great spectacle to see the red
hot lava with a yellow glow spout from one,
and sometimes two, fissures before it flowed
slowly down the hill in a northerly direction.
In one place the lava poured over the edge
of a deep gorge and spread half way down like
the ribs of a fan turned upside down. People
watched this phenomenon in awe from a natu-
ral viewing platform on the opposite site, lis-
tening to the crumbling sound of the molten
lava crushing down and felt its heat on their
face and body.
As many as 5.000 people visited the eruption
in a single day using various modes of trans-
port to get there. Although most used modi-
fied SUVs some actually walked while others
used a snowmobile, a mountain bike or a heli-
copter to experience the sight.
Mt. Eyjafjallajokull Eruption
A second eruption started on 14 April below
the icecap of Mt. Eyjafjallajokull and ended
rather unceremoniously around the middle of
May. This eruption was triggered by the first
eruption and was the one that proved cata-
strophic for aviation in Europe and tourism at

large. The composition of the magma in the
second eruption was much more explosive
than in the first eruption. Further, meltwater
from the glacier came into contact with the
magma and caused even more violent explo-
sions. This combination produced 10 km high
column of very fine ash above the mountain.
People’s perception of the magnitude of the
eruption and its effect on Iceland and its people
was greatly exaggerated by the media. Indeed,
if it had not been for the media, people in
Reykjavik, just over an hour’s drive away from
the mountain, would have remained oblivious
to its existence. All four international airports
remained operational throughout the eruption
with the exception that two had to be closed
for about five days in total. The eruption had
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no effect or little effect on air travel between
Iceland and the Americas.
Inspired by Iceland Marketing
Campaign
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Energy
in co-operation with Icelandair and Iceland
Express airlines, Reykjavik city, the Export
Council and the Iceland Tour Operators’
Association launched an ambitious market-
ing campaign named Inspired by Iceland. The
campaign which cost US$ 6 million ran from
mid-May through mid-July 2010 and was sup-
posed to convey the message that it was safe
to travel to Iceland. The campaign included
a fresh internet approach using community
based websites such as Facebook and Twitter
and reached about 2 million people, press trips
for travel journalists, website advertising ban-
ners in several countries etc.
Although it is quite difficult to assess the
campaign’s actual success it is a fact that in the
period January to November there was only
1.5 percent decline in the number of visitors
in 2010 compared to the same period in the
previous year. A much less drop then feared.
Those responsible for the campaign are happy
with its success. It was even nominated in two
categories for the European Excellence Award
2010 – an award for best corporate commu-
nication and public relations in Europe. It was
nominated in the best campaign in the Nordic
— 36 —
countries as well as best crisis management
campaign categories.
Icelanders were encouraged to take part in
the campaign by sending a message to foreign
friends abroad and contribute videos. Perhaps
more important than the concrete success or
failure of the campaign is the new found col-
lectiveness of diverse groups of stakeholders in
tourism – ranging from the general public to
the government, local authority, travel agents,
tour operators, restaurants and transport com-
panies.
Lessons Learnt
A memorandum from stakeholder’s close-
up meeting reiterates positive aspects gained
from the campaign. Tourism stakeholders
worked together united with the one goal in
mind to minimize the negative economic effect
of the two eruptions by attracting more tour-
ists. Locally the campaign brought attention to
the importance of the tourism industry which
until now has been seen as a marginal industry
by the public and policy makers.
By Stefan Helgi Valsson
Stefan Helgi Valsson is a freelance journalist and lec-
turer in tourism geography at the University of Iceland.
He is a professional tourist guide in Iceland, tourist
guide trainer and founder of Reykjavik Bike Tours.
http://www.reykjavikbiketours.is

Joining Forces: Inspired
by Iceland
On 14 April 2010 a volcanic eruption started
under the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland,
generating considerable news about the
country, some of it inaccurate. The eruption’s
impact and the ash clouds that it caused are
now infamous in the tourism industry world-
Januar y, 2011
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wide. Within days of the eruption, a wave of
cancellations began across all sectors and tour-
ist arrivals shrank by 22% in April alone. Had
the situation been ignored, it would have had
a disastrous impact on the important tourism
industry in Iceland, one of the most important
— 37 —
sectors of the economy. Yet the way in which
the Eyjafjallajökull eruption was tackled by the
small nation’s tourism professionals and other
interested parties led to a more successful
peak season than even the most optimistic had
thought possible.
Joining forces, the Icelandic government, the
City of Reykjavík, airlines Icelandair and Ice-
land Express, Promote Iceland and about 80
other tourism-related companies took quick
actions to address challenges and misconcep-
tions about travel to Iceland during and after
the eruption. These actions began as an offen-
sive crisis management effort to counter the
worldwide impression that travelling to Ice-
land was dangerous.
A primary dimension of the strategy was the
launch of the successful campaign Inspired by
Iceland. The campaign encourages people to
travel to the country with the argument that
“Iceland has never been more awake and there
has never been a more exciting time to visit the
country.” Its main focus is to allow individuals
to share their stories and memories of Iceland,
and hopefully turning a negative event—the
fear caused by the volcano—into a positive
result—changing the focus of international
attention on Iceland into a chance to showcase
the island’s many unique and appealing attri-
butes. The campaign’s website, Inspiredbyice-
land.com, is its main platform.
The campaign was launched on 3 June with
“Iceland Hour” – an hour during which the
entire nation became involved by sending tens
of thousands of messages to family and friends
all over the world. These messages included
links to a video promoting Iceland as a travel

destination, using the upbeat song “Jungle
Drum” by Icelandic singer-songwriter Emiliana
Torrini. The video shows people joyously danc-
ing to Torrini’s song in various locations (both
rural and urban), demonstrating that Iceland is
still full of life and unaffected by ash. Iceland
Hour was a huge success, with one-third of the
nation taking part. As of November 2010, the
website with the video has been visited over
three million times.
Celebrities also joined the campaign by shar-
ing their stories; among them are Yoko Ono, Eric
Clapton and Viggo Mortensen. Over 500 stories
from friends of Iceland have also been shared on
the website. Stephen Fry, the British television
presenter, tweeted: “Despite what you might
think, Iceland is as alive and charming as ever.”
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And he’s right. The newest figures evaluating
“Inspired by Iceland” indicate a strong global
impact. Although the full effects of the cam-
paign will take some time to register, a sur-
vey conducted in the UK, Germany and Den-
mark indicated increased interest in Iceland
as a destination. The objective of saving the
high season was also achieved, with figures
for travellers coming to Iceland equalling the
number for 2009 with only a 0.6% decrease,
and with a 12% increase in incoming travel-
lers in October.
Iceland has never been more awake – its
rough landscape and ever-changing weather
is an important part of the attraction and lei-
sure of this Iceland in the North Atlantic. The
Icelandic music scene is alive, with Iceland Air-
— 38 —
waves being the highlight, and from the spring
of 2011 Icelandic music and events will have a
new home in Harpa, the breathtaking concert
hall and conference centre being built at Reyk-
javík harbour.
Iceland, with its unspoiled nature and Scan-
dinavian infrastructure, is also a perfect health
and wellness destination, taking visitors far
from the madding crowd and welcoming them
in peaceful and tranquil surroundings. Come
and be active, be inspired.
By Anna Valdimarsdóttir (anna@icetourist.is) and
Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir (inga@promoteiceland.is)
http://www.inspiredbyiceland.com