There was a diverse and informative conversation that took place at a conference on tourism in West Iceland at Hotel Hamri yesterday, the event being the first in a series of meetings around the country that the Centre for Vocational Training is hosting in collaboration with the Regional Marketing Offices and SAF this spring.

Various aspects of how tourism workers are adapting to society and settling permanently in West Iceland were discussed, and what the main challenges are in this regard. Over 40 people registered for the meeting, some of whom attended Hotel Hamar and received lunch after the meeting, while others participated in the meeting via live stream. Among the speakers was Þorbjörg Gísladóttir, Mayor of Vík í Mýrdal, who spoke about the challenges and opportunities that Vík í Mýrdal faced with the sudden increase in tourists in the area. Björn Bjarki Þorsteinsson, Mayor of Dalabyggð, spoke about an interesting effort that is currently underway to make the municipality an attractive place to live, and then there were entertaining contributions from tourism workers in the area who have settled permanently. 

The training center presented tools that are accessible on our website and can be useful in welcoming new employees and creating a positive company culture. Among other things, we presented an easy-to-use employee handbook template and a language policy template, as it is increasingly important for tourism companies in their multicultural environment to create a framework for how to work with language in the workplace. Awareness of which language to use, when and why is key so that all employees can experience themselves as part of the workplace and the surrounding community. At the end of the meeting, there were lively panel discussions, followed by lunch and good chats among colleagues.

For those who missed the event, a recording of the stream is available. here.

The next meetings will be held next week in Húsavík and Sauðárkrókur and registration has begun. here.