Hjörtur Smárason - Greenland and the Future
Hjörtur Smárason is the CEO of Visit Greenland. He is a contributor to the new book, Aftershocks and Opportunities 2: Navigating the Next Horizon.
Hjörtur Smárason talks about how Greenland tourism was affected by Covid. No tourism for a year and a half. No cruise ships have been allowed in the country, and that eliminated half the tourism. They will be allowed to resume next year. He continues to tell us about the expected infrastructure growth over the coming 3-4 years and destination differences between North Greenland and South Greenland. Next, we talked about the future of tourism post-Covid and sustainability. He sees an increased demand for rural travel and experiencing peacefulness. We got off on an enthusiastic tangent about the intersection of new tech and travel and the quality of the tourist vs. the number of tourists. Greenland is for adventure travelers. Some of the activities are seeing the "Titanic killers" - sizable icebergs, dogsledding, photo tours, hiking, cross country skiing, standing on the snow that touches the North Pole, seeing the Milky Way, Northern Lights. We conclude with a peek into the future of travel and the fascinating chapters of his new thought-provoking book available on Amazon.
Travel tips of the week:
Gary – USB-C charger
Jen – "Hey, Disney" with Walt Disney World voice assistant on the Amazon Echo
Hjörtur – Dogsledding in Greenland with the locals, Inuit hunter. Enjoy the Northern Lights above you.