Kárahnjúkar dam in the eastern highlands is among destinations listed by some foreign travel agencies that organize trips to Iceland, including Studiosus Reisen from Germany. Tourism representatives say tourism and heavy industry is compatible.
“It doesn’t surprise me that people want to go and look at this engineering masterpiece, regardless of their opinions on power plants,” managing director of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF) Erna Hauksdóttir told Fréttabladid.
“A way into the highlands has also been opened up that didn’t exist before so people are also taking advantage of that,” Hauksdóttir said. “We have never said that heavy industry and tourism aren’t compatible. We know from experiences abroad that special trips to power plants are organized.”
“There are, however, differing opinions on where power plants ought to be constructed and where they ought not to be. We have to organize things in such a way that as many professions as possible can co-exist,” Hauksdóttir concluded.
Representatives of tourism companies and local authorities in east Iceland say that Kárahnjúkar dam has a positive influence on the flow of tourists to their region.
