A review: Eco-tourism in the Faroe Islands

- Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of tourism that appeals to the ecologically and socially conscious individuals. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet; typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Sustainable development needs to social, economic and environmental needs all together to occur. - Wikipedia

I attended a conference today. This was coordinated by SamVit - And the main objective was to shed ligt on eco-tourism, and what this meant to the public and the country itself, and how to approach this matter.

In the aftermath of the very good review we got in the National Geographic Travler - I think we have an obligation to the world, to preserve our country in the most sustainable manner we can. This matter should be and is a matter of national interest.

It started in the morning at 10, but i got there in the afternoon, as i wanted to hear what my brother had to say. He's a biologist, and talked about effect on nature. What it does to bird-life, when you walk in the mountains, and what could be done to make this more... how shall i say it?... sustainable. He spoke for approx. 20 minutes.

Next up is Randi Meitil, a woman from a company called, Faroe Trekking. She had an interesting speech on what her job is, and what she offers her customers. I haven't found her website, and i don't know if she even has one, but she's been in this line of business for many years, and seems like she knows what she's talking about. In short, she offers a travel package, which mainly consists of trekking in the mountains, in areas away from daily life. She also has visitors in the winter, for a more rough program.

Next up is Magni Blástein, a guy, which has a boat, and offers a fairly simple program. Get on his boat, sail a distance from land, throw out your fising rod... well, not the rod itself, i mean, the line... and sit there and wait, and inhale the tranquility and experience the nearness of nature. Also a very popular tourist-attraction.

Last on the list was Carol Patterson - She had a very interesting speech and approach on this matter, and you instantly came to realize, that she is an expert on this field. She told us about her experiences around the globe, e.g. in Borneo and Iceland.

Then there was a short pause, where i took that rather poor picture you see there on the top.

Rounding the evening, was a Q&A session. During this segment, i noticed one member of parliament in attendance, and this very person asked the head of SamVit, on what she thought they needed in funding from the parliament. I must say, i'm rather disappointed with the poor attendance of parliament members, on such a vital subject. There were some other questions, and then the evening ended.

A very interesting evening for me.