WE*GENERATE Podcast #6 – Tordis Biskopstø & Gyða Guðmundsdóttir

DMOs, embrace the difficult conversations and leverage the tension to transform the cruise industry “the best you can”.

How can DMOs do something instead of nothing when trying to create change in the cruise industry? Why is the issue of cruises not simply a “port” issue? What are some of the key challenges you often see between the port, DMO and locals? In the third and final part to the sequence WE*GENERATE: THE BEST WE CAN we speak to Tordis Biskopstø Managing Director of Visit Torshavn and Gyða Guðmundsdóttir Head of Community Engagement for the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) to hear more about how DMOs can proactively work with the contentious topic of cruises.

Takeaways

• Collaboration between the DMO, port, and locals is crucial for addressing the challenges and opportunities of the cruise industry.
• Tordis keeps getting asked whether she is for or against the cruise industry… But it’s too simplistic to stamp cruises as good or bad. Instead, she advocates that an acknowledgement of the multiple realities, be that of the local communities or the port, are paramount for moving away from binaries and creating change.
• There’s a lot of gatekeeping, misunderstandings and lack of general knowledge about the cruise industry. AECO has been developing a tool with Visit Reykjanes called Cruise Ready which aims to educate the community about the cruise industry and the value chain, in order for the community take more informed decision regarding what they want from cruises.
• Both Visit Torshavn and AECO advocate for honesty and collaboration. It is about taking those uncomfortable conversations and working with tension if your destination is serious about mitigating the societal and environmental impact of the cruise industry.
• AECO works to empower locals to make the decisions and set the agenda in order to prevent deeper conflicts and outright rejections of cruise visitors. Gyða discusses instances where local communities in the Westfjords have taken the lead in determining what terms and times of the year are most suitable for welcoming cruise visitors.
• The paradoxes of “net-positive tourism” are essential to recognise, but that doesn’t mean you should do nothing – it is about finding the ways that make sense in your destination to create and instigate better tourism.

The WE*GENERATE podcast series interviews destinations across Europe to find out what it really means to generate together, regenerative tourism futures. WE*GENERATE invites you into candid conversations to learn about the pursuits of really dedicated people: from CityDNA members and urbanists to community leaders, creatives from arts and culture, and volunteers. Collective action and collaboration are essential in addressing the complex challenges of our time, and Welcoming Wegeneration* is a manifest of collective responsibility.

If you have any comments of questions about the podcast, please contact host Sarah Frosh.

*Read more here about the Welcoming Wegeneration strategy