Developing a better understanding of visitor perceptions and satisfaction is integral to gaining insights into the pressures that lead to both overtourism and the under-utilisation of tourist attractions, including natural areas. Despite longstanding recognition of their value in monitoring and evaluating change there is a dearth of longitudinal studies in tourism. This study examines changing patterns of visitor use and satisfaction over time at Landmannalaugar, an internationally recognised wilderness area, in Iceland, a country which has been one of the focal points of concern as to the effects of overtourism. A questionnaire survey has been conducted in Landmannalaugar in the summers of 2000, 2009 and 2019 using the same questionnaire and distributed by the same method. Visitor satisfaction fell over the study period and crowding issues became much more important to tourists over time. Despite being based on a single site the research highlights the importance of long-term monitoring for visitor and site management as well as developing a better understanding of concepts of change in natural area tourism management.

This paper gives an overview of the various kinds of nature tourism practised at five different nature destinations in Iceland: Mývatn, the national parks Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur, and the Highland destinations Landmannalaugar and Lónsöræfi. The study analyses visitors' experiences, types of tourists visiting the different areas, their travel patterns, wishes for infrastructure, and their satisfaction with available services. The results are put into the context of Carrying Capacity, the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS), and the Purist Scale, and suggestions are made about how to plan and manage nature tourism in Iceland. The results show, for example, that in those parts of the Icelandic Highlands, where few changes have been made to the natural environment, purists should be the target group. Their satisfaction does not increase with more infrastructure and services; on the contrary, they prefer to travel in as natural an environment as possible. Travel destinations in the lowland areas should, on the other hand, invest further in infrastructure and services, thereby catering better for the needs of those that visit them.

The notion of wilderness is often associated with high latitudes. This paper focuses on the historical and cultural processes that construct the wilderness idea in Iceland.Throughout the centuries histories have mirrored the feelings and opinions toward the wild and dangerous. These include the sagas and folktales about outlaws and supernatural beings in the Icelandic Highlands. Despite its harsh nature occasionally travelers did visit. However, in early times few knew the wilderness from personal experience but all had heard stories about it and contributed to its social construction. Later when more scientific knowledge was collected, the stories changed and a new meaning was created for the Highlands. Tourism led to a new commodified image that attracted more and more travelers to the Highlands, both Icelandic and foreign visitors. However, present contestation between different forms of wilderness use as well as new sets of visitor demands are leading to the construction of new understanding of the nature of the Icelandic wilderness.

Nature, especially the wild and “untouched nature” has become an important resource for the tourist industry and outdoor recreation due to the experiences it can provide. Other industries sometimes have interests in the same areas as nature tourism and therefore land use conflicts can occur that require management of these natural resources. This paper seeks to explore the nature of wilderness experience in the Highlands of Iceland. The data is furthermore used to speculate about the conflicts that could occur between wilderness tourism and the power production industry in the Icelandic Highlands. The study was carried out with 1710 questionnaires, 51 in‐depth interviews and 30 diaries. The data was collected at six Highland destinations where power plants have been proposed. The results imply that the Highlands are an important part of Iceland’s attraction, especially for the French, Dutch and German markets. The main conclusion is that for most visitors the wilderness experience will be reduced if the plans for power production in the Highlands are realised. As land use allocation issues have not been resolved in Iceland we can expect an ongoing debate on how to use the Highlands. In order to have better tools when discussing the utilisation of the Highlands it is necessary to work on a Master Plan for tourism land use.

Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important part in influencing tourist decision-making and government and industry policy making. A media analysis was conducted of 507 online media articles on overtourism in Iceland that were published in 2018, with the main themes being identified via content analysis. The results indicated that the media discourse represented only a partial picture of overtourism and the crowding phenomenon in Iceland, with mechanisms to respond to crowding, the satisfaction level of tourists with their Icelandic nature experience, and local people’s support for tourism being underreported. Some of the findings reflect that of other media analyses. However, there are considerable discontinuities between media representations and discourses of overtourism in Iceland, which highlight the importance of national- or destination-level media analysis. The media analysis illustrates the need for a better understanding of different destination discourses and their influence.