Global Forum on Tourism Statistics 14. nóvember 2012

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this 11th Global Forum on Tourism Statistics, held at the behest of the OECD, Eurostat, Statistics Iceland, the Ministry of Industries and Innovation, and the Icelandic tourism authorities.
For the next three days, Harpa, our new concert and conference centre, will reverberate with talk of statistics and all sorts of research related to the tourism industry. A total of 28 speeches will be delivered by participants from 20 countries. After having acquainted myself with a summary of the speeches, I can tell you, beyond all statistical uncertainty, that a treat awaits you.

Tourism is one of the most vital sectors in the Icelandic economy. This year, for the first time in history, the number of foreign visitors to Iceland will exceed 600,000 – in other words, for every resident of Iceland, two foreign visitors came to the country. If we look back, we can see that the rule of thumb has been that the number of foreign tourists has doubled about every decade. And now the tourism industry stands on a par with fishing and energy-intensive industry as one of Iceland's three main sources of foreign exchange revenues.

Results seldom happen by themselves, though, and behind this impressive success lie innumerable hours of hard work by countless numbers of people. And this work has been based on understanding the needs, hopes, and expectations of target groups. Or, according to one advertisement for the Forum, “Today's statistics – tomorrow's revenues”.

This conference is a welcome and educational opportunity for guests to compare notes and acquaint themselves with up-to-the-minute developments in global research, data handling, and data processing, in order to gain a full understanding of the situation at hand. Armed with such information, we are more likely to make sound decisions about developing the tourism sector and setting better-targeted policies.

The ancient Viking poem Hávamál says, “Wise in measure let each man be”. In other words, it does no one any good to see too far into the future. And perhaps Alfred Hitchcock had this in mind when he directed the thriller The Man who Knew too Much, starring Doris Day and James Stewart, which tells us so memorably that it is dangerous in the extreme to know too much, as is reflected in the film's motto:

Whatever will be, will be - The future‘s not ours to see - Que sera, sera.

The reason I mention this here, in the opening speech of this conference – which focuses in large measure on acquiring an accurate view of the future – is that life will never be truly predictable, and perhaps least of all here on our volcanic island in the Far North. And when Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano whose name no one but Icelanders can pronounce, began to erupt with such force that air travel in a large part of the world was disrupted, I suspect many took a measure of comfort in that little serenity prayer: Whatever will be, will be Que sera, sera.

How in the world are we to build a tourism sector in a country where such catastrophes can hit us and visitors can neither come here nor leave? But in the aftermath of that natural disaster, when the ash had settled, it was proven that no one knows what his life will be like until he's lived it. The very thing that most people feared would put Iceland's tourism out to pasture proved to be one of the most potent advertisements ever. But I think it's appropriate when we talk about volcanic eruptions to issue a tried-and-true warning: Don't try this at home!

In closing, I want to wish you all a pleasant and fruitful conference. In particular, I wish to welcome our foreign guests. I hope you have a wonderful time here and have the opportunity to get to know our country and our people during your stay. As they say, word-of-mouth is the best advertising, and if you like what you see and experience here, and if statistics mean anything, then several tourists will come and visit Iceland in your wake in the months to come. And the numbers won't be fooled.

I hereby declare this 11th Global Forum on Tourism Statistics open.