Indicator 3.1 - Tourism

East Iceland attracts many tourists to see the area's wilderness, fjords, waterfalls, tundra, and landscapes.

The projects will likely influence the number of tourists in the region through tourist interests in the projects, increased access to the area, and business travel.

Performance

a. Proportion of jobs in hotels and restaurants in East Iceland and nationally.

As the graph below shows, the proportion of jobs in hotels and restaurants in East-Iceland has been lower than the national average. It is not possible to see any special change regarding this issue, upwards or downwards, at the time when construction started in 2003. There is a small increase in the proportion in East-Iceland between the years of 2004 and 2005.

More recent figures, on the proportion of jobs in hotels and restaurants, since 2005 are not available from the Icelandic Bureau of Statistics. The sustainability Initiative group board is still working on getting information from 2006 until now.

BLUE: Nationally  -  RED: East Iceland  -  Green: Northeast Iceland

Source: Statistics Iceland, 2009.
Last updated 10 April 2012.

b. Number of Overnight Stays in Hotels and Guesthouses in East Iceland

The following graph shows proportional changes in the number of overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses in 2000-2010. It shows that overnight stays have increased by over 40% in this period, from 94,196 to 157,972.

Generally the number of overnight stays is increasing but from 2001 the increase has been faster in East Iceland than at a national level and in the Reykjavik area.

Tölur fyrir gistinætur á hótelum/gistiheimilum eru ekki komnar fyrir árið 2011 frá Hagstofu Íslands. Meðfylgjandi mynd sýnir eingöngu gistinætur á hótelum á Austurlandi frá 2000-2011.

Smelltu á myndina til að sjá stærri útgáfu af henni.

Heimild: Hagstofa Íslands, 2011.
Uppfært 28.03.12

c. Fjöldi farþega í flugi til og frá Egilsstöðum

Mjög greinileg fjölgun hefur orðið á flugi til og frá Egilstaða frá árinu 2003 en meðfylgjandi línurit sýnir þróun í fjölda flugfarþega um Egilsstaðaflugvöll á árunum 2003-2010. Farþegum fjölgar jafnt og þétt og nær hámarki árið 2007 þegar tæp 160.000 farþegar fara um flögvöllinn. Þeim fækkar svo eftir 2007 þegar framkvæmdir náðu hámarki, en þó fara um 5.000 fleiri farþegar um flugvöllinn árið 2010 en árið 2003.

Smelltu á myndina til að sjá stærri útgáfu af henni.

Heimild: Hagstofa Íslands, 2011.
Tölur fyrir 2011 eru ekki komnar frá Hagstofu Íslands. Uppfært verður um leið og unnt er.

d. Fjöldi heimsókna til Fjarðaáls og í Fljótsdalsstöð

Hér til hliðar má sjá þróun í fjölda heimsókna til Fjarðaáls og í Fljótsdalsstöð. Landsvirkjun er með gestastofu fyrir Kárahnjúkavirkjun og Fljótsdalsstöð í Végarði og áður en álverið hóf starfsemi sína var Alcoa Fjarðaál með gestastofu skammt frá álverslóðinni. Árið 2006 var hápunkti heimsókna í Fljótsdalsstöð og álver náð, en í heild heimsóttu 18.309 manns álver og virkjun eða 15.734 virkjun og 2.575 álver. Á árinu 2010 heimsóttu 7.282 manns virkjun og álver, eða 5.405 virkjun og 1.877 álver.

Smelltu á myndina til að sjá stærri útgáfu af henni.
Uppfært 1.3.12

Metrics, Targets & Monitoring Protocol

Metrics: What is measured?

1. Proportion of jobs in hotels and restaurants in East Iceland and nationally. (Project effect: induced).
2. Number of bed nights/year in hotels and guesthouses in East Iceland. (Project effect: induced).
3. Number of passengers on flights to Egilsstadir. (Project effect: induced).
4. Number of visits to smelter and Karahnjukar projects. (Project effect: induced).

Targets

1. Proportion of tourism jobs in East Iceland greater than or equal to national proportion

2. Increase in the number of bed nights in East Iceland proportionally greater than or equal to an increase at the national level.

3. Increase in the number of passengers from baseline

4. Number of visits to Fjardaal and Karahnjukar visitor centers to increase after initial spike

Monitoring Protocol

1. Information from Icelandic Statistics will be collected annually.
2. Information from Icelandic Statistics will be collected annually.
3. From Air Iceland once a year.
4. Information officers from Landsvirkjun and Fjardaal monitor number of visits to hydro and smelter sites.

Rationale for Indicator Selection

East Iceland attracts many tourists to see the area's wilderness, fjords, waterfalls, tundra, and landscapes.

The projects will likely influence the number of tourists in the region through tourist interests in the projects, increased access to the area, and business travel.

It is also possible that the projects will make the area less interesting to some tourists that feel the construction of the dam will have a negative impact on wilderness in the highlands.

Tourists can access East Iceland by car, on tour buses, or via plane. Egilsstadir is the location of the region's principal airport, supporting local and international flights. The airport is well connected with good roads allowing access to many parts of East Iceland.

Performance

iii. Passengers on Flights to and from Egilsstadir

A very obvious increase in passangers on flights to and from Egilsstadir can be noted from the year 2002 as this graph demonstrates.

Source: Iceland Air, 2007

iv. Number of visits to smelter and Karahnjukar projects