It is safe to say that the conference on cruise ships, which took place in Edinborgarhúsið in Ísafjörður earlier this week, was well received and the turnout of conference guests was bigger than anticipated by the organizers. A total of eighteen lectures were given during the two day conferance touching upon the issue of cruise ship tourism from various angles. The material from the conference should become useful in the upcoming work of Ísafjarðarbær municipality to form að strategic plan in the field of cruise ship tourism.

The conferance was held in collaboration between the University Centre of the Westfjords, the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær, The innovation Center of Iceland and more. The minister of tourism, Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, addressed the conference early Monday morning followed by the Norwegian keynote speaker Frigg Jörgensen. Frigg is the managing director of AECO, Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators. It is an international association for expedition cruise operators operating in the Arctic. Frigg also has wide experience in the tourism industry in Svalbard, Norway. Other lecturers came from various parts of Iceland, ranging from academics to interest holders.

The purpose of the conferance was to create a venue for different opininons in this fast growing branch of the Icelandic tourism industry. The ultimate goal is to aid in the formation of a strategic plan within Icelandic municipalities with sustainability in the foreground.

Slides from the conference will soon be available on the UW website.