Last summer 40 percent of tourists at Mt. Hrafntinnusker on the Laugavegur hiking trail in the southern highlands thought there were too many travelers in the area, according to a survey conducted by Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir, associate professor in tourism studies at the University of Iceland, last summer.
Reykjadalir by Hrafntinnusker. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“It’s a question of expectations. Hrafntinnusker is in the remote highlands and so people don’t expect many others to be around but end up in a crowd,” Anna Dóra explained to Morgunblaðið.
This attitude is common on the Laugavegur route; at Lake Álftavatn 25 percent of tourists considered the area to be too crowded. “It tells us that Laugavegur is about to become sold-out, at least in the height of summer,” Anna Dóra concluded.
In a survey she conducted at Landmannalaugar, another popular highland destination on the Laugavegur trail, in 2009, 30 percent of tourists said they found that there were too many other people traveling there.
ESA
