Diamond Ring Road/ Diamond

Circle

Elena Martínez Pérez

The idea• 2006 by Kaldbaks-kot and North Sailing.• Diamond Ring Road is a Nature-Based initiative which aim

was to enlarge the stay of tourists who, originally would travel to the region to visit Dettifoss, Ásbyrgy and Mývatn, as well as to set Húsavík as the main base of tourism in Þingeyarsyrlur .

• Or: putting in order actors (tourist, offer, nature, etc.) and relations between them to optimize results.

“A tourism product can be almost anything that provokes human curiosity and as long as that “anything” is named, described,

priced and offered” Ateljevic and Li

The pioneers

• Kalbaks-kott

• North- Sailing

“ Innovation is not a single action but a total process of interrelated sub-processes” (Trott,

1998)

Kaldbaks-kott

“Get things done”

North Sailing

Network evolutionBeginning Now

Social network: “set of actors (individuals and organizations) and a set of linkages between those actors” (Brass, 1992)

And now…

• Husavikurstofa: – Private- public initiative. Which objective is to plan

the tourist industry in the town.– Last year, they took Diamond Ring Road as part of

their project.• Diamond Circle Society – NGO who works to promote and protect the

Diamond Circle (e.g. Diamond Ring Road) and surroundings. Board Members: Kaldbaks kott, Húsavík Hotels and Husavikurstofa.

-4 days proposed stay with everyday trips to the different diamonds of the region.

-Initiative pushed and supported by many individuals/ entrepreneurs in the whole region.

“Social Capital: Tangible and virtual resources that facilitate actors attainment of goals and that accrue to actors through social structure” Thornton et al., 2011

Tourism in the region

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

20102011

20120

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

Gistinætur

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

20102011

20120

20000400006000080000

100000120000140000160000180000

Gestakomur

Tourism in Þingeyarsyrlur evolves similar to tourism in the rest of iceland

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

Total IcelandNortheast