Reaching the edge of the Arctic: tourism mobilities in rural Iceland

This paper explores the encounters of mobilities and margins in relation to rural tourism by focusing on infrastructures. Tourism development usually follows infrastructural progress through eased access and shortening distances. Infrastructure investments, however, are dependent on political decisions and funding that tend to be negotiated somewhat far from the margins. The paper debates these issues in the context of potential tourism development in Melrakkaslétta, a rural peninsula on the northeast coast of Iceland. After longstanding socioeconomic downturns, the locals have proposed tourism as a way to rebuild their community. For furthering the sector, a group of small local tourism services has formed a collaboration under the term ´Edge of the Arctic’. However, Melrakkaslétta is located far northeast of the country's main entering point and travel routes. Here I investigate these matters with reference to policies and strategies of the Icelandic tourism authorities and narratives of the locals in Melrakkaslétta, stemming from ethnographic research conducted in the area. The findings leave me to hypothesize about the possible effects that changes within the Icelandic mobility system might cause in Melrakkaslétta and thereby on other tourism margins. This, I argue, is relevant as systems of mobility are constantly evolving and thereby themselves mobile.