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main industry in Greenland, and thereby replace the income and jobs lost by the decline of the
fishing industry, reduce unemployment and absorb the growth in the workforce.
Geographically, tourism was supposed to be divided: 40% of tourist in South Greenland, where
there has been a long tradition of tourism; 30% in the Disko Bay, where tourism was fast-growing
during the 1990s; 20% on the East Coast, which could boast the highest number of day tourists
from Iceland during the 1990s; and 10% in Central Greenland, where the redevelopment of the
decommissioned American base was planned to be the centre for tourists in connection with
meetings and conferences. The development was primarily focused on Denmark and Greenland as
the main markets for the future (Tourism Development Plan 1991: 4.3.2).
The National Tourist Board of Greenland
Greenland Tourism (GT) was established in 1992 as National Tourist Board of Greenland. The aim
was the development of a viable tourism industry in Greenland, to have control over the tourism,
creating their own programmes, contacts and having their own guides. In 1994 the concept of
“Outfitters” was developed with the goal of having local tour operators. The driving idea has been
to give the hunters training on tourism and related aspects, such as service, use of the radio, English
conversation, and some professionalism in dealing with tourists.
From 1997 GT assisted the regional tourist boards, called “Destinations”, in building capacities and
in the improvement of a framework, mainly dealing with legislation and public investments, for the
development of tourism in Greenland.
Another issue was the image of Greenland, which for a long time has been promoted and
consequently identified only with two elements: ice and dog sleds which with time, have been
transformed as very strong icons. For instance, the regions below the so-called “dog line”6 felt
disadvantaged as the entire southern part of Greenland suffered from the generalisation of the image
conveyed by the marketing campaigns.
In 2005 the board changed its name to the Greenland Tourism and Business Council, a government
owned agency for the development of tourism and business in Greenland, providing consultancy for
entrepreneurial self-starters and small companies focusing on tourism. The goal was to develop and
promote Greenland as an adventuresome and exclusive cruise destination through destination
development, regional and national branding and innovation & product development.
The strategy was to create and develop a brand encompassing Greenland as a whole and
strengthening regional diversities, creating a synergy between the business sectors able to support
the overall national brand of Greenland, support regional networks, use knowledge and expertise to
guide decision-makers in making the best possible legislative framework for tourism development,
and focus and prioritize to ensure the optimal use of the resources. A new web page
(http://www.greenland.com/) and a new brochure were developed for the new image and
marketing strategy, which created a new world around Greenland.
Tommasini