Marine and coastal culture tourism is growing in popularity in various ways. Some tourists want to learn about life in coastal villages, experience nature and tranquility as well as the wilderness. Others want to experience the excitement of driving charter boats, diving, surfing, speed-boating or hiring a boat and try their luck at fishing. Then there are those who want to sail from port to port – country to country in gigantic cruise ships. How does this fit in with cultural heritage, everyday life, social development, self-sufficiency, fishing quotas and environmental policies of the Nordic nations? How can the Nordic nations collaborate in this area? Do these diverse aspects of tourism have collaborative opportunities?

TUESDAY 18 JUNE
10:00 Minister of Industry and Innovation/Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources
10:15 Global images as local resources: Marine mammal tourism and social resilience in Icelandic coastal communities – Níels Einarsson, Director, Stefansson Arctic Institute, Iceland
10:45 How can research support management decisions to balance sustainable tourism and commercial fishing in Norway’s coastal zone? – Jon Helge Vølstad, Institute of Marine Research in Norway
11:15 Regional development of marine industries and tourism in western Norway – Inge Døskeland, Senior Advisor, Hordaland County Council, Norway
11:45 Lunch
12:45 Workshop - Self-sustainability and the environmental impact of fishing tourism - opportunities and threats. In what areas can we collaborate?
14:00 Bus to Dalvík
14:40 Arctic villages – Freyr Antonsson, CEO and owner Arctic Sea Tours, Iceland
15:15 Bus to Siglufjörður
16:00 Utilizing our cultural heritage. The Herring Era Museum of Iceland – Örlygur Kristfinnsson, Museum Director and Anita Elefsen, Museum Co-ordinator
19:00 Dinner in Siglufjörður

WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE
9:00 Innovation in nature-based tourism - the case of marine fishing tourism in Northern Norway – Heidi Holmgren, PhD Candidate, Finnmark University College, Norway
9:30 Cruise ship calls in northern destination ports, local impact and expectation - Anna Karlsdóttir, Geographer. Lecturer in tourism studies and human geography, University of Iceland
10:00 Coffee break
10:20 Tourism development in rural areas in Greenland – Tina Jensen, Head of Department of Industry and Labour Market
10:45 Tourism in rural areas, now and in the future – Eirik Suni Danielsen, Gjáargarður, Faroe Islands
11:15 Destination images - understanding destinations and visitor perceptions – Edward H. Huijbens, Director, Icelandic Tourism Research Centre
11:45 Lunch
12:45 Workshop – Marine and coastal culture tourism: opportunities, threats and the image of the north. Where do we stand and what are our aims?
15:00 Summary and conference closing

The conference is open to all but we kindly ask you to register your attendance for planning purposes by sending us an email at conferences@aktravel.is +354 4600 600 no later than 10 May, 2013.
For further information: sibba@svs.is, tel: +354 8648966
Conference fee: 12.000 ISK/545 DKK