| Summary: | Icelandic tourism depends on nature and nature-based activities. The Icelandic horse, culture of horsemanship and unique nature make Iceland an internationally famous horse-based tourist destination. In Iceland, tourism has increased rapidly in the last few years resulting in a rapid development of the entire tourism sector and subsequently horse-based tourism has grown to be an important source of income. Horse-based tourism is based on the utilization of natural resources and land-use which emphasizes the importance of adequate environmental management in order to preserve a sustainable future for this specific tourism sector. This thesis explores the extent of environmental knowledge among Icelandic horse-based tourism operators and what role environmental management has in their operation. Opinions of operators were collected through an online survey during the summer 2013 that were sent to all registered horse-based tourism operators’. Response rate was 41.4%. The conclusion reveals that in general environmental matters are considered highly important, but at the same time knowledge is lacking on environmental issues and especially on environmental management. Likewise, environmental management does not have a strong role in the Icelandic horse-based tourism sector. This research further indicates that many of the negative impacts as a result of horse-related activities are likely to be reduced or possibly avoided by increased environmental knowledge of the sector and related better management. Íslensk ferðaþjónusta byggir tilvist sína að miklu leyti á náttúru og náttúrutengdri afþreyingu. Íslenski hesturinn, aldalöng hestamennska og einstök náttúra eiga sinn þátt í því að gera Ísland á meðal vinsælustu áfangastaða heims fyrir ferðamenn með áhuga á hestum. Síðastliðin ár hefur ferðamennska vaxið mjög hratt á Íslandi með tilheyrandi aukningu á uppbyggingu ferðaþjónustu. Hestatengd ferðaþjónusta hefur að sama skapi vaxið og er nú orðin bæði stór og mikilvæg tekjulind innan ferðaþjónustunnar. Hestatengd ...
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