Responsible travel projects
Responsible travel projects in Iceland
Our mission is to be the leading responsible travel agency in Iceland and help travellers travel in a more responsible way around Iceland.
We are a fully certified travel agency and proudly take part in various projects that are aimed at bringing travel in Iceland to more sustainable ways.
Nordic Green Travel is a proud participant in the Responsible tourism project in Iceland “Ábyrg ferðaþjónusta”. The goal of the project is to maintain Iceland’s status as an optimal future destination for travellers by supporting sustainability for future generations.
Main emphases and how we will do it:
1: Demonstrate exemplary behaviour and respect for nature.
All tours sold by Nordic Green Travel will be carbon offset by planting trees through our forestry project “Plant a tree in Iceland” (View here). Nordic Green Travel will look to take part in, and manage, various environmental projects aimed at reducing the negative effects of travel and keeping our nature beautiful for our future generations. We will also strive to inform our guest on how best to travel responsibly in Iceland and reflect that in our marketing material and all the information that we will be providing our guests.
2: Ensure the safety of our guests and treat them courteously.
3: Respect the rights of employees.
4: Have a positive impact on the local community.
Main emphases and how we will do it:
1: Demonstrate exemplary behaviour and respect for nature.
All tours sold by Nordic Green Travel will be carbon offset by planting trees through our forestry project “Plant a tree in Iceland” (View here). Nordic Green Travel will look to take part in, and manage, various environmental projects aimed at reducing the negative effects of travel and keeping our nature beautiful for our future generations. We will also strive to inform our guest on how best to travel responsibly in Iceland and reflect that in our marketing material and all the information that we will be providing our guests.
2: Ensure the safety of our guests and treat them courteously.
Nordic Green Travel will strive to inform travellers as much as possible on how to travel safely and responsibly. We will keep information about safe and responsible travel on our website to make it easier for travelers to access necessary information. Travellers who choose Nordic Green Travel will also receive the information alongside their booking. When Nordic Green Travel has guest travelling, our employees will strive to be in good contact to keep them informed about bad weather or other possible hazards.
3: Respect the rights of employees.
Nordic Green Travel will ensure and respect the rights of all employees. We will follow laws and regulations regarding labor rights as well as enforcing the equal pay for equal work act.
4: Have a positive impact on the local community.
One of Nordic Green Travel’s missions is to work towards better distribution of travellers around the country with the aim to support and strengthen local communities. Our forestry project is also aimed at creating a positive impact on the local community where our forestry plot is located. Today we are working on creating a forest on the sands above the town of Þorlákshöfn where the land has been hit very hard with extreme soil erosion. In the future, we want to expand the reach of our forestry project to other corners of Iceland to create more local impact and increase our fight against climate change.
Founders and Owners are Daði Már Steinsson and Grétar Ingi Erlendsson (see below). We met at the University of Iceland during our studies in Tourism services. Astonishingly we shared the exact same ideology and decided to found a travel agency together. Nordic Green Travel would act as our platform to do good and enable us to allocate resources towards environmental protection. We thought: “people want to travel so why not offer a more responsible option?”.
We used our studies to form the concept as well as using our B.sc. project to create a marketing plan for the business. We talked to over 500 travelers in Iceland asking them about responsible and green tourism. The results showed that most travelers in Iceland want to travel in a more sustainable way. Our project was awarded as the most “excellent final project in tourism” by the Icelandic Tourism Research Center and the Icelandic Travel Association.
Nordic Green Travel was established in late 2016 and opened for business in March 2017. Our main focus is to make sure that the amazing nature of Iceland stays intact by incorporating sustainability into our business practices. We aim to be the leading responsible travel agency in Iceland. We do everything we can to minimize the negative effects of travel so people can enjoy the breathtaking views and powerful displays of mother nature for years to come. We also make sure that all services are of the highest quality standards and handpick our partners in order to provide the best experience for our customers. We want your stay in Iceland to be exciting, memorable and above all fun!
