The Tourists and the Whales - A Study of how Tourist Perceptions Prevented a Tourism Crisis in the Faroe Islands
Authors
Müller, Heri ; Rasmussen, Christian Fuglsang
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-05-31
Pages
113
Abstract
This thesis explores how and why a potential tourism crisis in the Faroe Islands was averted by examining tourists’ motivations and perceptions of the destination. The case centers on the 2015 update to the Faroese whaling law (grindalóg), introduced amid international activism against whale drives and producing unintended implications for the local tourism industry. Using a qualitative design, the study conducted two focus groups with past and prospective visitors to the Faroe Islands and semi-structured interviews with local tourism operators. Framed by theories of travel motivation (push/pull and travel career patterns), crisis perception, and destination image formation, the analysis suggests the anticipated crisis was less severe than local media predicted. Operators partly attributed limited effects to a flourishing market but could not fully account for continued growth. Focus group findings indicate that, despite negative emotions toward the law, participants perceived alignment between their travel motives and the destination’s core attributes. Their cognitive appraisal of the grindalóg meant it was not deemed severe enough to deter travel; instead, they would cope by avoiding potential consequences, thereby maintaining a positive destination image and loyalty. The study offers insights into understanding and mitigating potential tourism crises by examining relevant tourist segments in relation to the destination’s brand and experience offering.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan og hvorfor en potentiel turismekrise i Færøerne blev undgået ved at se på turisters motivationer og opfattelser af destinationen. Udgangspunktet er opdateringen af den færøske whaling-lov (grindalóg) i 2015, som opstod i kølvandet på udenlandsk aktivisme mod grindadráp og fik utilsigtede implikationer for den lokale turisme. Med en kvalitativ tilgang gennemførtes to fokusgrupper med tidligere og potentielle fremtidige Færøerne-turister samt semistrukturerede interviews med lokale turismeaktører. Analysen, understøttet af teorier om rejsemotivation (push/pull og rejsekarrieremønstre), kriseopfattelse og destinationsimage, peger på, at den forventede krise ikke materialiserede sig i det omfang, lokale medier havde forudset. Operatører tilskrev delvist de begrænsede effekter en i forvejen stærk vækst, men kunne ikke fuldt forklare fortsat fremgang. Fokusgrupperne indikerede, at selv om deltagere havde negative følelser over for loven, oplevede de fortsat overensstemmelse mellem deres rejsemotiver og destinationens centrale kvaliteter. Deres kognitive forståelse af grindalóg betød, at den ikke blev vurderet som tilstrækkeligt alvorlig til at afskrække et besøg; i stedet ville de undgå mulige ubehagelige konsekvenser og dermed bevare et positivt destinationsimage og loyalitet. Specialet bidrager med indsigt i, hvordan potentielle turismekriser kan forstås og afbødes ved at analysere et relevant turistsegment i forhold til destinationens brand og oplevelsesudbud.
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