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The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 was published earlier this month. Iceland and New Zealand were considered most welcoming towards foreign tourists in a ranking of 140 countries.
The attractiveness and competitiveness of each country’s travel industry was ranked in different categories, including ‘Attitude of population toward foreign visitors’ where Iceland and New Zealand shared top spot, cnn.com reports.
Both countries scored 6.8 points on a scale of 1 (very unwelcome) to 7 (very welcome) and were followed by Morocco, which scored 6.7.
At the other end of the scale, Bolivia was rated as the world’s most unfriendly country, scoring 4.1. Venezuela and Russia came next with a score of 4.5 and 5.0, respectively.
In the overall Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, the first five positions were all held by European countries with Switzerland, Germany and Austria being the top three. Switzerland has topped the ranking since its launch five years ago.
Click here to read the full report.
ESA
Four Icelandic contestants will participate in this year’s World Skills International, the world cup for industrial- and vocational subjects. The competition is held every other year.
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This year’s free English-language travel guide Around Iceland has been released, the 38th year in a row. The guide is also published in Icelandic and German and is distributed in 100,000 copies to the country’s most frequented tourist destinations.
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An international group of divers recently traveled to Þingvellir National Park in Southwest Iceland to explore this unique diving destination. A Polish guide, Michail Zinieuricz, who works for the DIVE.is, led the team of North Americans and a French couple.
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Iceland’s northernmost island is no longer one island. In a recent surveillance excursion to the Kolbeinsey, the Icelandic Coast Guard discovered that the island is now divided in two.
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The 2013 June-July issue of Iceland Review is out. Themed ‘We Are Young’ the magazine celebrates the arrival of summer by interviewing young energetic Icelanders who excel in art, sports, business and politics—and Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest PM in the republic’s history and the world’s youngest ruling state leader. Click here to take a look at a selection of the current issue and here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
amiina
The road to Höfn, a 1,690-person harbor town by the fjord Hornafjörður, is lined with reindeer. Whole herds of the wild horned animals rest peacefully on withered pastures, grace next to sheep and horses and bounce along the road. Soon, Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier and the region’s biggest attraction, comes into view. Looming over Höfn, its outlet glaciers flow down from the mountains on which the bright white icecap rests.
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Sin Fang will celebrate the release of his third album with a release concert in Iðnó on June 12. Flowers was released in February by Morr Music and has been well received by music enthusiasts and critics alike. The concert will be supported by Vök, this year’s winners of the Icelandic Music Experiments.
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