Icelandic National Parks are not planning to introduce entrance fees, despite the fact that a bill introduced in parliament by the Minister of the Environment would permit the parks to charge fees from visitors. Instead, Vatnajökull National Park is looking to introduce parking fees at its most popular sites. Þingvellir National Park already charges parking fees.
An extremely controversial topic
The question of access fees to popular tourist destinations has been an extremely controversial topic in Iceland, as many locals feel that charging them access to Icelandic nature is a violation of their rights. Others have argued access fees are the best way to fund necessary investment in infrastructure to meet the dramatic growth in tourism. Parking fees have been suggested as a compromise.
Read more: Landowner allegedly pulls knife on travellers in a confrontation over entry fees at Stokksnes beach
Landowners have also fought for the right to charge entrance fees to sites which have become popular tourist destinations. In some cases this has led to confrontations with visitors.
Access to nature free, parking not
The director of Þingvellir National Park told the local news site Vísir that the park had no plans to charge entrance fees or to introduce other new fees. The park already charges for parking at its most popular and largest parking lots, as well as charging for the use of public lavatories: We have always based this on charging for access to specific services or facilities we provide to our guests, rather than charging for entry to the area.
The park has come under significant financial stress in recent years, as the dramatic growth in the number of visitors has not been met with a similar increase in public funding. The local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports that the second most popular National Park in Iceland, Vatnajökull National Park is also looking at introducing parking fees at Skaftafell. The park estimates that Skaftafell is visited by 800,000 people each year.
Icelandic National Parks are not planning to introduce entrance fees, despite the fact that a bill introduced in parliament by the Minister of the Environment would permit the parks to charge fees from visitors. Instead, Vatnajökull National Park is looking to introduce parking fees at its most popular sites. Þingvellir National Park already charges parking fees.
An extremely controversial topic
The question of access fees to popular tourist destinations has been an extremely controversial topic in Iceland, as many locals feel that charging them access to Icelandic nature is a violation of their rights. Others have argued access fees are the best way to fund necessary investment in infrastructure to meet the dramatic growth in tourism. Parking fees have been suggested as a compromise.
Read more: Landowner allegedly pulls knife on travellers in a confrontation over entry fees at Stokksnes beach
Landowners have also fought for the right to charge entrance fees to sites which have become popular tourist destinations. In some cases this has led to confrontations with visitors.
Access to nature free, parking not
The director of Þingvellir National Park told the local news site Vísir that the park had no plans to charge entrance fees or to introduce other new fees. The park already charges for parking at its most popular and largest parking lots, as well as charging for the use of public lavatories: We have always based this on charging for access to specific services or facilities we provide to our guests, rather than charging for entry to the area.
The park has come under significant financial stress in recent years, as the dramatic growth in the number of visitors has not been met with a similar increase in public funding. The local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports that the second most popular National Park in Iceland, Vatnajökull National Park is also looking at introducing parking fees at Skaftafell. The park estimates that Skaftafell is visited by 800,000 people each year.
