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Surveying Visitors at Askja Volcano, Iceland

Brooke Benz 1, Alison Graettinger1

Abstract

Askja is an active volcano in the Icelandic highlands that brings hundreds to thousands of tourists to see its unique landscape. This study utilized a voluntary 14-question survey developed in partnership with the Vatnajökull National Park (VNP) to determine how aware tourists are at a remote, active volcano in Iceland. The survey was posted from July 20 to October 1, 2024 using a QR-code at various locations around Dreki at Askja and available on an iPad managed by a team of two individuals based at the Dreki huts from July 29 to August 9, 2024. The primary goals of this survey were: 1) to see if the methods were viable for future volcano tourism surveys, 2) to determine how tourists access information in the VNP, and 3) tourists' preferred form of communication of potential volcanic hazards. This study was able to determine that a survey is a viable method for evaluating how tourists engage with information in the VNP. The data surrounding health and safety questions shows that 26% of tourists do not know the medical emergency number in Iceland. One of the main avoidable hazards at Askja is hiking to and swimming in maar lake, Viti. However, 23 individuals admitted to hiking down into or swimming in Viti, and 87% of them indicated they had seen the VNP hazardous conditions warning sign. To communicate volcanic hazards at tourist sites in Iceland, additional surveys are needed to understand and implement ways to communicate to the varied populations at these sites.