fríggjadagur 12. september 2008síða 2

Vestnorden Travel Mart 2008 2 A Nordic event The North Western Travel Mart is held once a year and is each time moved from one geographical location to another. The Nordic countries are somewhat similar in regard to their ancestral backgrounds, and are also joined in a common goal – to invite the world to partake in their ancient Viking legacy. Tourism is a small word, but never the less a big achievement when successful at reaching the main goals – satisfied visitors. There are two sides to consider when we are in the business of tourism. On the one hand, we encourage tourists to come and enjoy the all the materialistic pleasures and to buy our products. On the other hand we also wish them to experience a unique encounter, creating precious visible memories as souvenirs for them to take back home. Enhanced focus on tourism Over the last year, the Faroes have set higher goals, and are branding the Islands like never before. This enhanced consciousness of our own culture helps us to better discover what values we have to offer. Thus we are more confident to invite tourists from the entire globe to enjoy our offerings. Also, our service and offers are conforming to a more consistent standard throughout our many islands, and our tourists can appreciate the entire culture as a whole. The latest subsea tunnel investments into our infrastructure has linked around 70 percent of our islands, and made sure that transport is less of a challenge. Still many choose the soothing experience of traveling by boat and to explore our nature’s beauty from the sea. Time stands still when you are sailing on a hundred-year-old wooden vessel. The Faroese people are especially well-known for their open arms and warm hearts, and as a tourist you will experience this also. In the smaller villages we are proud to say that people don’t even lock their doors. The criminal rate is very low in these islands and the peace unmatched. Our location was described by National Geographic as “paradise on earth”, and the program host was astounded to experience the closeness we have with our nature. If you order a dish of gourmet fish in our local restaurants, you are in for a treat. It is not our material goods we seek to offer our tourists, but more the adventure that lies in these islands, and the three thousand year-old legacy of Nordic culture. Faroese branding and trademarks The national export is Faroe fish that mainly goes to the fine restaurants of France, Italy and Great Britain. The natural resources of cod, salmon and saithe are of great importance to ensure the continuing welfare of the Faroese society. Naturally, the surrounding countries wait with great anticipation if hydrocarbons will be found this year or the next, and the massive capital investments required from the oil companies will strengthen the Faroese economy. Faroese fashion and design is beginning to interest others, and lately many designers have been able to capture the uniqueness of our nature in clothing design. Gurðun & Gurðun, Tøting and Sirri are some of the Faroe brands that have had success abroad, and their catwalk displays have impressed our neighbours. So looking upon developments over the last five years, we see that the Faroe Islands are participating in the world globalization and opening their borders ever more to other countries. We have seen that tourism is a growing industry and are now investing more of our capacity in to this area. We congratulate our Icelandic relatives with their Travel Mart and hope to see all of you again in the year 2011 in the Faroes. The Media House in Torshavn, Faroe Islands VESTNORDEN TRAVEL MART 2008 Útgevari: Sosialurin Uppseting: Sosialurin Prent: Prentmiðstøðin Lýsingar: Sosialurin