The local authorities in Iceland’s West Fjords will present a new feasibility study on establishing regular whale watching tours in the region to attract more tourists. In recent years only three percent of foreign tourists visited the West Fjords.
During the same time the whale watching industry has grown immensely in Iceland. According to data from the Icelandic Whale Watching Association, more than 104,000 people booked whale watching tours in 2007 compared to 100 in 1991, as 24 Stundir reports.
An international conference on whale watching will open in Selfoss, south Iceland, tomorrow, the first of its kind in the Nordic countries. Scientists and representatives of the tourist industry from around the globe will participate in the conference.
Topics on the agenda include whale watching in Scotland and South America, how the industry is perceived on a global scale and how whale watching affects seaside villages.
