Sonja Annikki Nieminen flytur fyrirlestur um verkefni sitt til meistaraprófs í Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði með ferðamálafræði sem kjörsvið.
Fyrirlesturinn ber heitið: Environmental Knowledge and Management in the Icelandic Horse-based Tourism.
Ágrip
Icelandic tourism is depending on nature and nature-based activities. The Icelandic horse, culture of horsemanship and unique nature make Iceland an internationally famous horse-based tourist destination. In Iceland, tourism has increased rapidly in the last few years resulting in a rapid development of the whole tourism sector and subsequently horse-based tourism has grown to be an important source of income. Horse-based tourism is based on the utilization of natural resources and land-use which emphasizes the importance of adequate environmental management in order to preserve a sustainable future for this specific tourism sector. This thesis explores the extent of environmental knowledge among Icelandic horse-based tourism operators and what role environmental management has in their operation. Opinions of operators were collected through an online survey during the summer 2013. The conclusions reveal that in general environmental matters are considered highly important, but at the same time there is a lacking knowledge on environmental issues and especially on environmental management. Likewise, environmental management does not have very strong role in the Icelandic horse-based tourism sector. This research further indicates that many of the negative impacts as a result of horse-related activities are likely to be reduced or even avoided by increased environmental knowledge of the sector and related better management.
Leiðbeinendur: Rannveig Ólafsdóttir, dósent og Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir dósent
Prófdómari: Dr. Guðrún Helgadóttir.