Social Sustainability of hunting tourism Interviews with industry stakeholders

1. Social Sustainability of hunting tourism Interviews with industry stakeholders Hjördís Sigursteinsdóttir Eyrún Jenný Bjarnadóttir

2. The interviews • Stakeholders • Land-owners • Icelandic hunters • Policy makers/parties with particular interests • Entrepreneurs/tourism service providers • Convenience sampling • 20 respondents of both sexes from all the defined stakeholder groups • Semi-structured interviews

3. A Definition of Hunting Tourism Hunting tourism is conducted by hunters who may sometimes travel considerable distances from their home and/or own hunting grounds, and often abroad, in order to hunt. They may be well-acquainted with their destination and be familiar with the species they hunt. There is, however, a gradient in the degree to which travelling hunters may have socio-cultural links to their hunting destinations. European Charter on Hunting and Biodiversity, 2007:4

4. Findings from interviews • A description of hunting tourism and associated activities • Public opinion on hunting tourism • The impact of hunting tourism • Recreational hunting and hunting traditions • Impact on other rural activities/industries • Social impacts • Ecological impacts • Economic impacts • The opportunities presented by hunting tourism • The obstacles faced by hunting tourism • The future of hunting and hunting tourism in Iceland

5. Describing hunting tourism • Services associated with hunting (accommodation, lease of land and guiding) “This isn’t tourism until you start caring for the individual” • Hunting is about more than just the kill, the experience matters.

6. Public opinion on hunting tourism • Varied • Positive, • Lacking • The public does not care or has no opinion • Dependent on if the hunting is not endangering species, nature or is not colliding with other activities/industries • Can impact the development of hunting tourism • There needs to be room for the locals too

7. Recreational hunting and hunting traditions • Has both a positive and negative effect „It can impact locals hunting and that is something people need to keep clearly in mind. Both traditional rights, but also people need to pay heed to the viability of the settlement, as this might be one of the reasons a person resides in the area, maybe not the dominating factor, but surely a potential factor. And it is possibly cause for caution if an outsider can gain better access than locals, and that occurs maybe only through pricing.” • Locals are in it for the meat, but the outsider as part of experiencing nature • Management and control

8. Impact on other rural activities/industries • Can well function with other activities, but can also be the source of conflict. • Is apt to provide further foundations for rural tourism outside the high season • Does not work well with e.g. hiking or sight-seeing trips • The interplay between sheep grazing and hunting

9. Social impacts • Positive impacts • More varied choice of employment • Synergy with other industries • Publicity for the area • Increased flow of information for hunters • Negative impacts • Hunting impacting locals • Conflict with other industries

10. Ecological impacts • Positive impacts • More information being mediated • More precise management of resources, both in terms of species and nature • Negative impacts • The ever present risk that species are endangered due to excessive hunting.

11. Economic impacts • Positive impacts • A source of revenue for the area • Better use of infrastructure outside high season • Multiplier effect and synergy with other industries • Negative impacts • Impacting the hunting of locals • Conflicts with other industries

12. The opportunities in hunting tourism • Opportunities in terms of species of catch and services provided for hunting. • An addition to an already existing service base of local farmers • An opportunity for those willing, able and wanting • Geese, grouse, sea-birds and arctic fox • More opportunities in more rural areas • Lack of organization

13. Obstacles for hunting tourism • Limited hunting season • The weather and climate • Hunting species • The owners of hunting rights and the management of hunting rights • Local communities • The current economic crises

14. The future of hunting and hunting tourism • High volume hunting not accepted • A continued high demand for geese hunting • More organization needed around hunting • Increase services for hunters • A long time till we see all hunting grounds in Iceland defined as possible products for sale in hunting tourism.

15. www.north-hunt.org For further information see the homepage or e-mail: Hjördís Sigursteinsdóttir (hjordis@unak.is) Eyrún Jenný Bjarnadóttir (ejb@unak.is)