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New app promotes whale friendly tourism in Iceland

New app promotes whale friendly tourism in Iceland

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Free ‘Whappy’ app contains info on whale meat-free restaurants, tour operators and species identification guide

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has launched a free ‘Whappy’ app containing information about restaurants in Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik which have pledged not to serve whale meat. It also features whale watching operators, whale friendly souvenirs and an identification guide for whales and dolphins that can be observed in Icelandic waters.
“The new app is another way of informing tourists visiting our beautiful country about the wonder of whale watching, but it also helps them make whale friendly decisions and ensure their trip does not leave a bad taste in their mouth,” said IFAW’s Icelandic representative Sigursteinn Masson. “Many tourists are not fully aware of the contradiction of going whale watching then later eating whale meat. Icelanders have very little appetite for whale meat these days, so if tourists sample whale meat in our restaurants they are contributing directly to the number of whales being killed,” Masson added.

In collaboration with Icelandic whale watching operators’ coalition IceWhale, IFAW operates a summer ‘Meet Us Don’t Eat Us’ campaign in the country, with volunteers educating tourists about whaling and whale meat consumption. A recent Gallup poll revealed only 3% of Icelanders claim to eat whale meat regularly with tourists becoming a significant part of the domestic market for minke whale meat. At the project’s launch in 2010, whale meat could be found on the menu of the majority of restaurants in downtown Reykjavik. The percentage of tourists tasting whale meat has more than halved over the last five years, from 40% in 2009 to 18% in 2014.
The ‘whale friendly restaurants’ scheme has resulted in less than 50% of restaurants now offering whale meat. The remainder have pledged not to serve whale meat and display a whale- friendly sticker in their windows. “We hope tourists and tour operators will use our Whappy app and help enhance tourists’ experience. Iceland is one of the best destinations in Europe for whale watching with the opportunity to see a huge variety of species of whale and dolphin,” said Masson.

Whale watching is now one of Iceland’s top tourist attractions. Drawing more than 220,000 tourists and generating £10 million annually, tourism is proving whales are more valuable the Icelandic economy alive than dead. For more information on Whappy and download links visit www.ifaw.org/whappy.

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