Whale Watching in Iceland

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Whale Watching in Iceland Viðskipta- og raunvísindadeild Lok2106 Comparison of two companies in tourism in Northern Iceland - Case studies of innovation systems - Háskólinn á Akureyri Ágúst 2007 Jón Gestur Helgason Samningur milli nemenda Háskólans á Akureyri og bókasafns háskólans um meðferð lokaverkefna Ég undirrituð/aður,................................................................nemandi við Háskólann á Akureyri afhendi hér með bókasafni háskólans þrjú eintök af lokaverkefni mínu, eitt prentað og innbundið, annað prentað og óinnbundið og það þriðja á geisladiski. Titill verkefnis: ……………....................................................................................................... Prentuð eintök: Lokaverkefnið er lokað til: dags. _________ ártal: _____________ Ef lokaverkefnið er opið er bókasafninu heimilt að: já nei lána það út til nemenda eða kennara HA lána það út til utanaðkomandi aðila lána það til lestrar á staðnum Ef lokaverkefnið er opið er heimilt: já nei að vitna til þess í ræðu og riti að vitna til þess í ræðu og riti að fengnu samþykki mínu í hverju tilviki Ef lokaverkefnið er opið er heimilt: já nei að ljósrita takmarkaða hluta þess til eigin nota að ljósrita tiltekna hluta þess að fengnu samþykki mínu í hverju tilviki já nei Bókasafninu er heimilt að ljósrita lokaverkefnið til viðhalds á snjáðum eintökum sínum, þó aldrei svo að það eigi fleiri en tvö eintök í senn i Jón Gestur Helgason Stafrænt eintak: Stafrænt eintak verður vistað á pdf-formi í rafrænu geymslusafni, Skemmunni. Óheimilt er að prenta eða afrita lokaverkefni í Skemmunni. Það er á ábyrgð undirritaðs að stafrænt eintak sé að fullu sambærilegt við prentað eintak, þ.e. að því fylgi forsíða, titilsíða og öll fylgiskjöl/viðaukar. Lokaverkefnið er lokað já nei til: dags. _________ ártal: ________ Lokaverkefnið er opið eða verður opnað síðar og bókasafninu þá heimilt að: já nei bjóða opinn aðgang að því á vefnum í heild sinni til allra leyfa nemendum og starfsmönnum háskólans aðgang með notendanöfnum og lykilorðum Lokaverkefnið er lokað að hluta til eða í heild og bókasafninu er heimilt að leyfa aðgang á vefnum að: já nei efnisyfirliti útdrætti heimildaskrá Akureyri / 20 ___________________________ ___________________________ nemandi bókavörður ii Jón Gestur Helgason Háskólinn á Akureyri Viðskipta- og raunvísindadeild Námskeið Lokaverkefni 2106 Heiti verkefnis Comparison of two companies in tourism in Northern Iceland. – Case studies of innovation systems - Verktími Janúar – Ágúst 2007 Nemandi Jón Gestur Helgason Tengiliðir Hörður Sigurbjarnarson hjá Norðursiglingu. Sigurður Friðriksson hjá Bakkaflöt. Leiðbeinandi Edward H. Huijbens Umsjónarmaður Ögmundur Knútsson námskeiðs Upplag 5 Blaðsíðufjöldi 91 Fjöldi viðauka 5 Útgáfu- og notkunarréttur Opið iii Jón Gestur Helgason Yfirlýsing „Ég lýsi því hér með yfir að ég einn er höfundur þessa verkefnis og að það er afrakstur eigin rannsókna“ ____________________________________________ Jón Gestur Helgason „Það staðfestist hér með að verkefni þetta fullnægir að mínum dómi kröfum til prófs í námskeiðinu LOK 2106“ __________________________________________ Edward H. Huijbens iv Jón Gestur Helgason Útdráttur Ritgerð þessi skoðar tvö tilviksdæmi og ber þar saman tvö nýsköpunarkerfi á Norðurlandi. Þátttakendur í báðum kerfunum hafa aukið við ímynd þess landsvæðis sem þeir starfa á. Við greiningu á tilviksdæmunum voru skilgreindir sérstakir flokkar í þeim tilgangi að varpa ljósi á hið flókna samspil innan hvors nýsköpunarkerfis og til þess að hægt væri að greina skipulega þau gögn sem safnað var. Greiningarflokkarnir sem voru notaðir eru lykilþættir kerfanna; bakgrunnur, það sem laðar ferðamenn að, kerfið sjálft, hindranir og drifkraftur. Greining á kerfinu sjálfu krafðist ítarlegri skoðunar og var því þar notast við C-PEST greiningarlíkan við mat á áhrifum umhverfis. Tilviksdæmin voru borin saman með tilliti til lykilþátta og hlutverka þátttakenda innan nýsköpunarkerfanna. Samanburðurinn leiddi í ljós að í kerfinu þar sem Norðursigling er leiðandi afl er nýsköpun mjög virk með áherslu á strandmenningu. Bakkaflöt, sem einbeitir sér að afþreyingarþáttum í kjarnarrekstri sínum, er þátttakandi í nýsköpunarkerfi sem er ekki eins virkt hvað nýsköpun varðar en leggur engu að síður með flúðasiglingum sínum til mikilvægan hluta ímyndar Skagafjarðar í ferðaþjónustu. Niðurstöður verkefnisins benda til að helstu atriði sem taka þarf tillit til við mótun stefnu í ferðamálum sé þörf á viðurkenningu á hagrænu mikilvægi ferðaþjónustunnar hérlendis og að styrkja þurfi stoðkerfi ferðaþjónustunnar þannig að lítil og millistór fyrirtæki í greininni hafi greiðari aðgang að fjármagni og aðstoð. Einnig þarf aukna áherslu ríkis við að bæta grunngerð fyrir ferðaþjónstuna og auk þess þarf að auka samvinnu milli fyrirtækja í ferðaþjónustu, opinberra aðila og háskólasamfélagsins. Slík samvinna eykur nýsköpunarmöguleika innan greinarinnar. Lykilorð Nýsköpun, nýsköpunarkerfi, ferðaþjónusta, Ísland, hvalaskoðun, flúðasiglingar. v Jón Gestur Helgason Acknowledgements This has been an incredible journey into the landscape of tourism in Iceland where the stark contrast between the perceptions of tourism of the public and of those who are involved is black and white. I want to thank everyone that have shown me patience, helped me out or given friendly advice on this fascinating subject of innovation systems in tourism. “Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.” Albert Einstein I would especially like to thank: Edward H. Huijbens, my instructor and mentor for his invaluable advice, assistance and expert knowledge on innovation and tourism Ögmundur Knútsson, for allowing me to work on these case studies Helgi Gestsson, for his knowledge, advice and discussions Auður Eir Guðmundsdóttir, for the proofreading of my thesis Anne Mette Hjalager, for her adaptation of the roles within an innovation system from the technological field to tourism Brian Wood, for his picture on the title page from his travels in Iceland Gerður Ringsted, patience, patience and more patience Tumi and Aska, my cats and lap warmers Akureyri 29.ágúst 2007 ___________________________________ Jón Gestur Helgason vi Jón Gestur Helgason Abstract This thesis deals with the comparison of two innovation systems in the rural areas of Iceland. Both have added something new to the image of their area creating a stronger regional identity in the national landscape of tourism in Iceland. For both case studies specific categories were defined in order to break down the data collected in a systematic approach shedding light on the intricate workings of each innovation system. The categories used were the systems’ main elements; background, attractions, system, impediments and driving forces. The system category required a more in depth analysis and therefore a C-PEST model (Competitive, Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological) was used to discern the nature of the operating environments. The cases were then compared regarding the main elements of the categories and the roles within an innovation system listing function and activities that shows the innovative aspect of the system in question. The comparison showed that Norðursigling is a core and a lead actor in a highly innovative system which centres on a concept of coast culture. Bakkaflöt, focusing mainly on their core operations, is a part of a less innovative system, with a concept more narrowly focused on leisure activities, but still contributing to the image of Skagafjörður through river rafting. The main common policy implications gathered from this work is the need for a stronger national acknowledgement of the economic value of tourism, to strengthen the support system for small and medium sized companies in the tourism industry that has the available funding and resources needed for creating stability, thus laying the foundations for investors and new venture capital. Also by increasing the government’s emphasis on improving the necessary infrastructure for tourism and taking advantage of innovation trough the triple helix model by increasing the effective co-operation between the tourism companies, the public sector and universities. Key words Innovation, innovation systems, tourism, Iceland, whale watching, white water river rafting. vii Jón Gestur Helgason Table of contents 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Theoretical foundations .................................................................................................. 3 2.1 Innovation .................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Innovation systems ...................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Roles within the system ............................................................................................... 9 3.0 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 11 3.1 Research method ........................................................................................................ 11 3.2 The case studies ......................................................................................................... 11 3.3 Prerequisites for the case ........................................................................................... 12 3.3.1 The structuring of the interviews ......................................................................
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