Qeqertalik in the sign of promotion
It is among the business and tourism development organization’s obligations to create awareness about the Qeqertalik region, this applies both to potential business partners and other stakeholders in the world.
Last week we attended three different events in two different countries, as two of the events overlapped.
AECO’s Annual Meeting 2023
The one event we attended was the AECO Annual Meeting in Oslo, which is organized by the Arctic Expedition Cruise Ship Organization, which celebrated its 20th anniversary for its members this year. Destination Manager Navarana Bidstrup participated here and promoted the Qeqertalik region to the organization’s members who needed further information about the possibilities in our destination.
“Among other things, I was speed dating with 16 from the organisation’s member ships, who were eager to hear more about our region and about the tourism operators. Some of the members were also told about their future plans for their ships. However, the most important thing, in my opinion, was that we got direct contact with them, for future potential cooperation.” said the Destination Manager.
By creating direct contact, it will be easier to make agreements with the future cruise ships that visit our destinations in the region – and thus be able to prepare and arrange activities in the destinations during their visit.
Vestnorden Travelmart 2023
At the same time as the event in Oslo, there was also bustle in Reykjavík, where the annual large travel fair Vestnorden Travelmart was held. The director of Destination Diskobay, Gerth P. Olsen participated here from a total Greenlandic delegation consisting of a total of 43 companies that promoted destinations and products to international travel agents.
The week before the fair, a group of travel agents visited the Qeqertalik region and got a taste of what our destinations could offer. They spent a few days in Aasiaat staying at Hotel SØMA and experienced the newly fallen snow by hiking in nature and the city, with a stop at the museum and the new eatery Restaurant Northstar, before the group sailed on to Qeqertarsuaq with Diskoline.
During the visit to Qeqertarsuaq, they were shown around the charming town and the beautiful snow-covered basaltic landscape, expertly guided by one of the promising young local guides, who also let the group visit his Greenland sled dogs, much to the satisfaction of the agents. In addition, they also visited the souvenir shop Kuannit Art, where the owner gave a presentation to the group.
“I managed to meet with 17 travel agents in Reykjavík, who came from different parts of the world and each with their own interests and customer segments. They were interested in hearing what opportunities our region had to offer, and for the seasoned agents, the interest was directed towards new measures that could be of use to their customers. Among other things, Hotel SØMA succeeded in bringing home agreements” said the director
During the events, the winner of the Greenland Tourism Award 2023 was announced, here Mikami Hostels from Qasigiannguit was among the nominees for the award.
Arctic Circle Assembly 2023
The director of the Business Council participated in the Arctic Circle Assembly 2023 in continuation of the stay in Reykjavík after the participation in Vestnorden Travelmart. The large event, which spanned 3 days, had over 700 speakers in over 200 different sessions, which you could register for and engage in dialogue with if you had comments or questions on the various topics. But the primary focus was to focus on the Arctic agenda, both politically, business-wise, tourism-wise and research-wise on a global scale.
Here there was ample opportunity to network with the right business people, potential investors or politicians, not to forget the other participants, with good opportunities to expand one’s network and promote our work and interests to others.
Among some of the interesting topics was the Research Council’s presentation on Ileqqussaasut, ethical framework for research in Greenland, which will be visiting us in the near future. There was also a session on American-Greenlandic educational cooperation within tourism, service, fishing and agriculture between Campus Kujalleq / Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik / Pinngortitaleriffik and American educational institutions.
