Following a coach accident this weekend, the deputy chief of the Association of Icelandic Tour Guides says that foreign tour companies bringing people to Iceland should be obliged to bring at least one Icelandic tour guide along with them.
A Czech tour bus rolled over into a Highland lake this weekend and sank to the bottom; but tragedy was averted because the driver was able to ensure all 11 people on board got away unharmed. The group consisted of 22 Czechs, but 11 were away from the bus at the time of the accident.
The story would have been open-and-shut; but later reports suggested that the Czech tour bus visits Iceland every year and has been involved in accidents before — due to the recklessness with which it is driven and because safety procedures are not correctly followed. The bus also, apparently, drives off marked driving routes, which is illegal. The tour operator in question, Adventura, strongly denies the claims; saying passenger safety and respect for the local environment are its top priorities.
In either case, the operations of foreign tour companies in Iceland are not monitored, and neither is the number of tourists they bring with them. Now the deputy chief of the Icelandic tour guides association wants foreign companies bringing large groups of people to Iceland to be forced to hire Icelandic tour guides.
Any tour company with a valid operating licence in another EEA (European Economic Area) country can legally operate in Iceland. The same is true of Icelandic tour companies in the EU/EEA.
A variety of other European countries do, however, insist that foreign companies use domestic tour guides. Larus Bjornsson says that should also be the case in Iceland — especially in the potentially dangerous Highlands and in national parks, RUV reported.
Two incidents were photographed last year; one where the bus drove off the track and got stuck in mud and another where it collided with an oncoming 4×4. The driver of the 4×4 was cleared of any wrongdoing and claims to have had to swerve up on the bank to avoid serious damage and injury.
I think the idea of hiring an Icelandic guide would be good since he/she should know better the landscape…but I am afraid the prices of such tours will sky rocket. The organized tours here in Iceland are very expensive…in my opinion.
I don’t think that any local person – not being trained properly would be any help. In my opinion if you’re hired to do the tour guide job you should know and would know of course what needs to be done in name of safety. Therefore it doesn’t really matter what nationality the guide is unless he/she has appropriate training which should be provided by the local rangers!
The whole point of European Union was to allow variety of jobs worldwide. Let’s not be nationalistic!
“any tour company with a valid operating license in another EEA (European Economic Area) country can legally operate in Iceland. The same is true of Icelandic tour companies.” LUDICROUS LAW. How many Icelandic tour operators are there trashing the Czech country side? Iceland should only have Icelandic tour company’s.
I still remember, as in the mountain shelters of Iceland, the pioneers of European travel companies filled their notebooks with important notes.
Now you cannot store at the mountain shelters Heimskur your dirty shoes and wet rain capes, because the vestibule is blocked up to the ceiling with Samsonite suitcases.
There is a difference, whether the service of a travel guide is paid or not. If the service is paid in the Alps, mountain guides have previously to pass a training with a final examination, that he able to guide tourists in the Alps. If then a disaster happened, he is called to tribunal.
Trekking tours in Iceland are similar to mountaineering in the Alps. It would be advantageous if Iceland sets up a school in which guides, what are not Icelanders, give proof about experience with Iceland’s highlands. If they are in success they will get a license. And only with this license, they are entitled to be paid for tours to Iceland’s highlands.
Maybe the quantity of Samsonite suitcases in the mountain shelters will decrease. On my trekking tours I never met one Icelandic guide accepting Samsonite suitcases inside mountain shelters. ;-)
Guðbergur Berggson once wrote: “… with bike on the car – and boat on the trailer, such a common sight on German roads, if it goes >in nature<.” It is a proper description.
I know, the correct name is Emstrur. It was just an intentional pun. "Heim" is a German word for "at home" and “Kur” is a German word for “cure”. It was a joke :-)
At Emstrur I even saw mirrors inside beauty cases, which could be rolled out. I missed only an inflatable television set, pretzel sticks and slippers. ):-0
But seriously: perhaps Ferðafélag Íslands support courses for foreign guides and the University of Iceland certifies this guides? In Germany, for example, the German Alpine Association (DAV) supports the training for a certified mountain guide, which is conducted by the Association of German Mountain and Ski Guides (VDBS) on behalf of the Technical University of Munich. The national examination is conducted by the TU Munich. It would be with discernment, and no ludicrous international law can disturb it.
I believe that any title of travel agency is valid in the EU like the guides’ titles.
It is not just to judge the whole group of foreign guides in Iceland for the recklessnesses of some few ones
The interest is more of nationalizing the business of the tourism and not opening way to which the others could be employed at Iceland. Perhaps do not Icelandic guides have enough work in Iceland? The happened accidents have been a recklessness on the part of the foreign driver and the guide in this case, but it is necessary to allow that the whole world should work freely.
Only it does lacking professionalism and respect towards the environment and it´s depends of the guides/person not the nationality.