Situating nature: Ruins of modernity as náttúruperlur

Abstract

The aim of this article is to contribute to problematizing the notion of nature in Icelandic nature-based tourism. Despite a fairly robust recent definition of nature-based tourism by the Icelandic Ministry of Industry as “travellers’ varied experience of nature,” in fact, the definition of nature in this context seems limited to places supposedly unspoilt by human influence, and that rather simplistic understanding seems overly prevalent in the discourse of Icelandic tourism. The concept of “nature-based” tourism is necessarily reductive if it is limited to areas conceptualized as pristine. Many places that are identified primarily through their anthropogenic features would not be adequately understood without considering their ecological properties, and certain areas with significant anthropogenic elements give rise to specific—and in many ways unique—experiences of flora and fauna. Central among them are ruins, where ambiguous space is occupied spontaneously, where interactions with the nonhuman can be more unexpected, startling, and dangerous than in more regulated areas. If tourists come to Iceland chiefly due to the country’s spectacular náttúra, the Icelandic tourism industry is well advised to be mindful of the many derelict and abandoned contemporary structures found across the country.