Tourism seminar in Shanghai, 17 June 2010
Madam ambassador, dear guests,
It gives me special pleasure to speak to you here today, and I am pleased to see how many people have shown their interest in Iceland by coming to this seminar held by the Icelandic Embassy in Beijing in collaboration with the Trade Council of Iceland.
This is my first visit to China, and I have been overwhelmed by my first impressions. The hospitality I have enjoyed is extraordinary; the climate is good and the food is superb. And the fact that EXPO 2010 is being held here in Shanghai is another proof to the world what China can do when it comes to huge undertakings that will leave their mark on history.
Iceland regards China as a friend among nations. Earlier this month, for example, a bilateral currency swap agreement was signed between the Central Bank of China and the Central Bank of Iceland for 3.5 billion yuan.
This represents a large step towards rebuilding Iceland‘s economy: as you know, our banking system collapsed in autumn 2008, and the government has been doing everything it can to reduce the damage. Of course, this involves first considering how best we can use our own resources to revive our economy and enhance our quality of life.
Like China, Iceland has rich reserves of geothermal energy. We have achieved great success in harnessing this resource, using it, for example, to heat homes and buildings and to generate electricity.
We are proud to be able to offer China, with its long civilization, the skills and experience necessary to use its geothermal resources in the service of tens of millions of its citizens and improve their living standards and happiness.
Our relations in this field have been very fruitful, through the UN Geothermal Training Programme in Iceland and further geothermal heating projects in China.
Tourism plays a very important part in Iceland's economy, especially now, when the country has suffered a collapse of the banking system and all sorts of economic constraints, and so we want to draw visitors to Iceland. We also believe that this helps to enrich our experience in Iceland.
During the past 50 years, Icelandic tourism has experienced dramatic growth. The annual increase in the number of visitors to our country has been, on average, 6.8% over the past ten years. On five occasions the increase from one year to the next has exceeded 12%.
Tourism in Iceland has, in fact, been transformed from a small industry that provided summer employment for relatively few individuals into the country's second largest industry in terms of foreign currency earnings. It is now also seen as one of the mainstays in the development of future employment opportunities in Iceland during this century.
To follow this vision through, we must maintain and cultivate the markets where we have already gained a foothold; these are largely based on the flight routes that Icelandair has established between Europe and the USA. But we must also look for new opportunities and seek out new markets – which is why we are here.
In 2003 an air traffic agreement was signed between Iceland and China, followed a year later by the signature in Beijing of a Memorandum of understanding between the Republic of Iceland and the People's Republic of China on visa and related issues concerning tourist groups from China to Iceland.
As consequence, those who travel from China to Iceland now apply to the Icelandic Embassy in Beijing for their visas, and all aspects of tourist travel between our two countries is now on absolutely the same footing as between the EU countries and China regarding travel between China and the Schengen Area.
This agreement also made it possible for Icelandic tourist companies to enter this market, in addition to which our embassy in Beijing and other official bodies have been able to start work on promoting Iceland as a destination for Chinese tourists. All these things have been done in a very efficient and professional way.
It is therefore no exaggeration to say that these agreements were of the greatest importance, and marked the beginning of collaboration on tourism between our countries. Since they were signed, Chinese tourists have been travelling to Iceland in organized group tours. Icelandic aircraft operators have also started operations here in China, and we hope that direct flights will begin between Iceland and China before long.
The numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Iceland have fluctuated rather rapidly, and one of the reasons we are here is to learn what we can do to improve our arrangements and the way we receive Chinese tourists in Iceland. They are highly valued as visitors to our country, as Icelanders feel respect for nations with a long history and rich cultural traditions.
What do we have in Iceland to offer the visitor from China – from one of the most beautiful countries in the world, from a country that is overflowing with natural beauty, history and culture?
In the light of recent events, it is fair to mention that Iceland is a volcanic island, and that we are even proud of our volcanos. We monitor them closely and we know when eruptions or earthquakes can be expected.
Our Civil Defence authority and other bodies control the situation closely and take measures to maintain safety. Iceland's infrastructure is sufficiently developed to cope with the likely consequences of eruptions, and life continues as normal, though of course the eruptions have a local effect, but in most cases this has been in isolated areas, far from centres of population.
The eruption in the Eyjafjalla Glacier earlier this year had a huge effect on air traffic in Europe, even though only a small part of Iceland itself was directly affected.
No eruption in Iceland over the previous 60 years had produced so much fine, light ash, and the resulting situation showed that international aviation authorities need to be better prepared than they were for events of this type. Iceland itself was never cut off as a result of the eruption, however, as we have four international airports in various parts of the country, which ensures that the contact by air is always open.
Of course, our hot water is another “pull” for the visitor to Iceland: it is possible to swim out of doors at more than a hundred places in Iceland all year round, and in some of them, special health-spa facilities have been developed, as at the Blue Lagoon.
We are currently doing a lot to build up health-related tourism and swimming and bathing facilities of various types. Few things are as good for health as swimming in warm water in the open air.
Also, I would mention the fact that you can have large areas virtually for your self. Nothing compares to the relaxation and peace to be had from a walk in the mountains in the company of just a few family members or friends. At night you can camp in a tent or stay in a first-class hotel; there is something to suit all tastes.
Iceland has many restaurants offering Chinese food and also international cuisine and traditional Icelandic cooking.
Many Chinese people are employed in the tourist industry in Iceland, and more and more Icelanders are learning Chinese and coming to appreciate the complexity and depth of your culture.
We anticipate one million visitors to Iceland in 2020. This is not a large number by Chinese standards, but you have to remember that our total population is only 320,000: three people per square kilometre.
Iceland does not cater for mass tourism, and nor does it aim to do so. We are too aware that the special qualities of our country lie in its natural environment, the lack of crowding and the abundance of open space.
Of course, civilization is gradually making its inroads; but here in a country with thousands of years of human culture it feels almost ridiculous to mention such a thing.
We would like the Chinese to form a greater proportion of this projected figure of one million tourists than they do at present.
Representatives of our airlines and tourist agencies will be presenting their ideas on how trade between us can be increased – for the benefit of us all.
I am grateful for this opportunity to meet you here today, and I would like to express my best wishes to you all for your important work in strengthening the commercial ties between our two countries with the focus on tourism. - I wish you a good day!