Visit Faroe Islands urges tourists to behave responsibly

Visit Faroe Islands is shifting from promoting the Faroe Islands as “unspoiled” to telling tourists how to behave during their visits, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

The campaign, called “Please Visit Responsibly”, consists of short, humorous films featuring selected Faroese people. Each film ends with practical advice for tourists.

“This will become an integral part of our information and marketing, which we will gradually develop further and incorporate into everything we do,” said Jóhan Pauli Helgason, development manager at Visit Faroe Islands.

Fríði “Joe” Djurhuus of the punk band Joe and the Shitboys addresses tourists who want to fly drones in the Faroe Islands. He urges them not to “be a dick”, but to follow the rules for drone flights. Otherwise, he jokes, Faroese people will send the Danish military and NATO after them.

Musician Silvurdrongurin encourages visitors to slow down and embrace the islands’ distinctive atmosphere. He suggests making a “fuck-it list” instead of a bucket list, so tourists can enjoy the peace rather than rushing to see exactly the same places as everyone else.

Actress Mariann Hansen plays a housewife in the Reyni neighbourhood of Havn who can no longer get dressed in peace because people stand outside looking through her windows or photographing the old houses for their Instagram appeal.

The film highlights that Reyni, Tjørnuvík and other places in the Faroe Islands are neighbourhoods where people live.

“This is not new. We have provided information about tourist behaviour for many years. What is new is that we are distributing it much more widely than before,” Helgason said.