Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland
Seasonality in visitor arrivals is one of the greatest challenges faced by tourist destinations. Seasonality is a major issue for sustainable tourism as it affects the optimal use of investment and infrastructure, puts pressure on resources and can create negative experience of crowding at destinati...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:13214ab8618146d988bbc0e49171722b 2023-05-15T16:47:44+02:00 Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir C. Michael Hall Þorkell Stefánsson 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113059 https://doaj.org/article/13214ab8618146d988bbc0e49171722b EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3059 https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050 2071-1050 doi:10.3390/su11113059 https://doaj.org/article/13214ab8618146d988bbc0e49171722b Sustainability, Vol 11, Iss 11, p 3059 (2019) tourism seasonality tourists’ perception crowding sustainable management Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113059 2022-12-30T20:27:29Z Seasonality in visitor arrivals is one of the greatest challenges faced by tourist destinations. Seasonality is a major issue for sustainable tourism as it affects the optimal use of investment and infrastructure, puts pressure on resources and can create negative experience of crowding at destinations. Peripheral areas commonly experience more pronounced fluctuations in visitor arrivals. Iceland is one of those destinations. Although the number of tourists visiting the country has multiplied in recent years, seasonality is still a major challenge, especially in the more rural peripheral areas of the country. Iceland’s high season for tourism occurs during its brief summer (June to August), but in recent years more people visit the country on shorter winter trips, creating new management challenges. This research is based on an on-site questionnaire survey conducted in seven popular nature destinations in Iceland which compares the experience of summer and winter visitors. The results show that winter visitors are more satisfied with the natural environment while their satisfaction with facilities and service is in many cases lower. The areas are generally perceived as being more beautiful and quieter in winter than in summer. However, most destinations are considered less accessible and less safe in the winter. Tourists are much less likely to experience physical crowding during winter, although winter visitors are more sensitive to crowds, most likely because of expectations of fewer tourists. Finally, this research shows that tourists are less likely to encounter negative effects of tourism on the environment in the winter, (e.g., erosion or damage to rocks and vegetation), than in summer. The results highlight the importance of understanding visitor perceptions in a seasonal and temporal context. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Sustainability 11 11 3059 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
tourism seasonality tourists’ perception crowding sustainable management Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
tourism seasonality tourists’ perception crowding sustainable management Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir C. Michael Hall Þorkell Stefánsson Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland |
topic_facet |
tourism seasonality tourists’ perception crowding sustainable management Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Seasonality in visitor arrivals is one of the greatest challenges faced by tourist destinations. Seasonality is a major issue for sustainable tourism as it affects the optimal use of investment and infrastructure, puts pressure on resources and can create negative experience of crowding at destinations. Peripheral areas commonly experience more pronounced fluctuations in visitor arrivals. Iceland is one of those destinations. Although the number of tourists visiting the country has multiplied in recent years, seasonality is still a major challenge, especially in the more rural peripheral areas of the country. Iceland’s high season for tourism occurs during its brief summer (June to August), but in recent years more people visit the country on shorter winter trips, creating new management challenges. This research is based on an on-site questionnaire survey conducted in seven popular nature destinations in Iceland which compares the experience of summer and winter visitors. The results show that winter visitors are more satisfied with the natural environment while their satisfaction with facilities and service is in many cases lower. The areas are generally perceived as being more beautiful and quieter in winter than in summer. However, most destinations are considered less accessible and less safe in the winter. Tourists are much less likely to experience physical crowding during winter, although winter visitors are more sensitive to crowds, most likely because of expectations of fewer tourists. Finally, this research shows that tourists are less likely to encounter negative effects of tourism on the environment in the winter, (e.g., erosion or damage to rocks and vegetation), than in summer. The results highlight the importance of understanding visitor perceptions in a seasonal and temporal context. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir C. Michael Hall Þorkell Stefánsson |
author_facet |
Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir C. Michael Hall Þorkell Stefánsson |
author_sort |
Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir |
title |
Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland |
title_short |
Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland |
title_full |
Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland |
title_sort |
senses by seasons: tourists’ perceptions depending on seasonality in popular nature destinations in iceland |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113059 https://doaj.org/article/13214ab8618146d988bbc0e49171722b |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Sustainability, Vol 11, Iss 11, p 3059 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3059 https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050 2071-1050 doi:10.3390/su11113059 https://doaj.org/article/13214ab8618146d988bbc0e49171722b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113059 |
container_title |
Sustainability |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
3059 |
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1766037822187241472 |