Concerns over tourist congestion

There is little doubt within the Faroese tourism industry that visitor numbers will hit record highs this year.

The high number of tourists are putting a great deal of pressure on the most popular tourist destinations, says tour guide Ann Askham.

“We focus too much on selling the same places. Everybody wants to see Gjógv, Gásadalur and Tjørnuvík – we’re not doing enough to promote all the other beautiful areas such as Kvívík, Elduvík and Oyndarfjørður,” she says.

“One possible solution would be to inform tourist agencies abroad of the multitude of beautiful places in the Faroes that do not always make it onto the Instagram feeds.”

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Ann explains that this year is by far the busiest she has ever had as a tour guide, and many of her colleagues say the same.

“I see tourists everywhere. Unfortunately, a lot of them travel either without a guide or with a guide from their own country,” she says.

“This is a problem because they don’t know our culture, and they are not familiar with our rules about walking off the beaten track.”

Lacking respect for local practices

In previous years, tourists mostly came from the Nordics and Northern Europe. But nationalities have become more varied in recent years.

“We have seen an increase in tourists from Asia, especially China,” she explains.

“Like many other Faroese tour guides, I have become rather reluctant to go on trips with Asian, especially Chinese, tourists because they tend to show very little respect for the various rules and prohibitions that have been put in place for tourists.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.