The Icelandic Travel Industry Association expects at least 327,000 people will go on whale watching tours this year, a 20% increase over last year. According to the local newspaper Fréttablaðið whale wathcing firms are adding boats and tours to meet this demand.
Read more: Explosive growth in whale watching, industry more than doubled in last decade
Guðbjartur Ellert Jónsson, the manager of Norðursiglingar, the largest whale watching company in the town of Húsavík, North Iceland, told Fréttablaðið that even if the company was adding two boats this summer, it also had to add new tours on its other boats to meet the demand. He believes that whales and whale watching are quickly becoming a major pillar of the local economy.
“There are other factors than just the whale watching. We have the Whale Museum, which is extremely important, and a University of Iceland Research Centre here in Húsavík. All of these work together.” The University Research Centre in Húsavík is the home to studies marine mammals as well as tourism. Guðbjartur argues that whale watching is already leaving a major mark on the local community, creating more whole-year jobs in tourism.
Read more: Blue whale skeleton exhibited at Húsavík Whale Museum next month
Húsavík is also very well situated for whale watching. Nearly a fourth of all people who went on a whale watching trip last year in Iceland travelled with Norðursiglingar.
The Icelandic Travel Industry Association expects at least 327,000 people will go on whale watching tours this year, a 20% increase over last year. According to the local newspaper Fréttablaðið whale wathcing firms are adding boats and tours to meet this demand.
Read more: Explosive growth in whale watching, industry more than doubled in last decade
Guðbjartur Ellert Jónsson, the manager of Norðursiglingar, the largest whale watching company in the town of Húsavík, North Iceland, told Fréttablaðið that even if the company was adding two boats this summer, it also had to add new tours on its other boats to meet the demand. He believes that whales and whale watching are quickly becoming a major pillar of the local economy.
“There are other factors than just the whale watching. We have the Whale Museum, which is extremely important, and a University of Iceland Research Centre here in Húsavík. All of these work together.” The University Research Centre in Húsavík is the home to studies marine mammals as well as tourism. Guðbjartur argues that whale watching is already leaving a major mark on the local community, creating more whole-year jobs in tourism.
Read more: Blue whale skeleton exhibited at Húsavík Whale Museum next month
Húsavík is also very well situated for whale watching. Nearly a fourth of all people who went on a whale watching trip last year in Iceland travelled with Norðursiglingar.
