12 June 2024
One of South Greenland’s prominent tourism operators, Greenland Sagalands in Qaqortoq, convened a public meeting on Monday, June 10. Innovation South Greenland is pleased with the initiative and can see various challenges that can be improved and changed.
Pitsi Høegh, who runs Greenland Sagalands, held a public meeting about cruise tourism for the citizens of Qaqortoq. Several small tourism operators, kaffemik makers, fishermen and hunters, people from Innovation South Greenland and citizens attended the meeting.
This year (2024), 70 cruise ships will call at Qaqortoq, 35 at Nanortalik and 12 at Narsaq. High season for cruise ships is just around the corner and small and large tourism operators are preparing for the peak season. In August alone, 42,000 cruise ship passengers are expected in Qaqortoq.
Do we have the capacity for this many tourists and how can we ensure that everyone fits in our narrow roads or that everyone has access to the pontoon bridge (Kongebro), which is the only arrival point for cruise ships passengers, Diskoline passengers and other tourist operators’ charter boats?
These were some of the topics that Pitsi Høegh brought up and discussed with interested parties.
Pitsi Høegh is happy that so many people attended and is open to cooperation with the other tourism operators so that the various challenges can be solved in the best possible way in the future.
– We have agreed to come together to solve the various challenges we face every year. But I also want to emphasize that both the municipality and Royal Arctic Line cannot be avoided, as they are responsible for the various facilities, says Pitsi Høegh, owner of Greenland Sagalands in Qaqortoq.
ISG will support the various solution-oriented goals
Innovation South Greenland attended the meeting and is proud that an independent company is taking such initiatives.
– At the citizen meeting we saw how businesses and citizens can find common understanding and cooperation on cruise tourism. The tourists create life in the summer and are an important source of income for our local communities.We at Innovation South Greenland will evaluate across the region after the high season, so that we can become a better and more sustainable cruise destination in the future, says Miki Jensen, Director of Innovation South Greenland.
Innovation South Greenland will hold an evaluation meeting for the entire tourism industry when the peak season ends in 2024.
