Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland
The interest in harnessing wind energy keeps increasing globally. Iceland is considering building its first wind farms, but its landscape and nature are not only a resource for renewable energy production; they are also the main attraction for tourists. As wind turbines affect how the landscape is p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/7/693 |
| _version_ | 1827688356368089088 |
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| author | Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Margrét Wendt Edita Tverijonaite |
| author_facet | Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Margrét Wendt Edita Tverijonaite |
| author_sort | Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The interest in harnessing wind energy keeps increasing globally. Iceland is considering building its first wind farms, but its landscape and nature are not only a resource for renewable energy production; they are also the main attraction for tourists. As wind turbines affect how the landscape is perceived and experienced, it is foreseeable that the construction of wind farms in Iceland will create land use conflicts between the energy sector and the tourism industry. This study sheds light on the impacts of wind farms on nature-based tourism as perceived by the tourism industry. Based on 47 semi-structured interviews with tourism service providers, it revealed that the impacts were perceived as mostly negative, since wind farms decrease the quality of the natural landscape. Furthermore, the study identified that the tourism industry considered the following as key factors for selecting suitable wind farm sites: the visibility of wind turbines, the number of tourists and tourist attractions in the area, the area’s degree of naturalness and the local need for energy. The research highlights the importance of analysing the various stakeholders’ opinions with the aim of mitigating land use conflicts and socioeconomic issues related to wind energy development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:53:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4cac6bc0126b45feb60bfa3afab59a9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:53:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-4cac6bc0126b45feb60bfa3afab59a9e2023-11-22T02:29:15ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-06-0110769310.3390/land10070693Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in IcelandAnna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir0Margrét Wendt1Edita Tverijonaite2Department of Geography & Tourism, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, IcelandDepartment of Geography & Tourism, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, IcelandDepartment of Geography & Tourism, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, IcelandThe interest in harnessing wind energy keeps increasing globally. Iceland is considering building its first wind farms, but its landscape and nature are not only a resource for renewable energy production; they are also the main attraction for tourists. As wind turbines affect how the landscape is perceived and experienced, it is foreseeable that the construction of wind farms in Iceland will create land use conflicts between the energy sector and the tourism industry. This study sheds light on the impacts of wind farms on nature-based tourism as perceived by the tourism industry. Based on 47 semi-structured interviews with tourism service providers, it revealed that the impacts were perceived as mostly negative, since wind farms decrease the quality of the natural landscape. Furthermore, the study identified that the tourism industry considered the following as key factors for selecting suitable wind farm sites: the visibility of wind turbines, the number of tourists and tourist attractions in the area, the area’s degree of naturalness and the local need for energy. The research highlights the importance of analysing the various stakeholders’ opinions with the aim of mitigating land use conflicts and socioeconomic issues related to wind energy development.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/7/693wind farmwind energyrenewable energy infrastructureimpactstourism industrynature-based tourism |
| spellingShingle | Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Margrét Wendt Edita Tverijonaite Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland Land wind farm wind energy renewable energy infrastructure impacts tourism industry nature-based tourism |
| title | Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland |
| title_full | Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland |
| title_fullStr | Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland |
| title_short | Wealth of Wind and Visitors: Tourist Industry Attitudes towards Wind Energy Development in Iceland |
| title_sort | wealth of wind and visitors tourist industry attitudes towards wind energy development in iceland |
| topic | wind farm wind energy renewable energy infrastructure impacts tourism industry nature-based tourism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/7/693 |
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