What is perceived as sustainable cruise tourism?
The ability to plan is mentioned as a key dimension to make the cruise tourism industry desirable to the local community. Different cruise lines make it easier or harder to plan according to some stakeholders. What many of the stakeholders perceive as the larger more mass-tourism cruises are said to be more difficult to work with. They describe many of them as unorganized. The smaller, luxurious expedition ships are preferred by many local actors as that reduces the number of cruise guests per day, the cruise lines are very well organized, and operations run smoothly. Stakeholders believe that receiving cruise ship visits is crucial for local companies to survive, so from that perspective cruise tourism has positive effects, and the cruise industry is an industry that the majority of local stakeholders like to see continue for the future of Ísafjörður. When asked about the ideal future scenario for Ísafjörður stakeholders express that they would definitely like Ísafjörður to continue being a cruise destination but there needs to be a good balance, not too many cruise passengers, otherwise the industry will have bad environmental and social consequences for the town and surrounding area.
“Cruise ships are always going to part of Ísafjörður. My dream is that Ísafjörður has a framework, that its ok to say no and if its full its full.”
What is referred to by interviewees when asked about sustainable cruise tourism is vague. People were rather unsure how a sustainable cruise industry would work in practice. Some companies report that operating greener cruise excursions is starting to be demanded by the end customers even though those tours may be more expensive. Traveler’s mindset is changing, and people are willing to pay more to travel more responsibly. Some say that this type of end customer choices might make it easier and push companies to focus more on sustainable practices, and more exclusive and expensive tours. Some see Svalbard as a good example, a destination that has enforced restrictions. Others say that the most important sustainability challenge is carbon emissions from ships, and that cruise ships as well as other ships, like fishing boats, should turn electric or hybrid.