Private businesses
Many unique locations within the National Park are very popular tourist destinations. In the management of these destinations, Vatnajökull National Park emphasises the importance of providing visitors with a positive service experience and that sustainability be a guiding principle in the interactions with all companies that organise trips or offer other kinds of services in the relevant areas.
To further that objective, Vatnajökull National Park makes agreements with companies that wish to provide their customers with services within the National Park, especially in the most popular destinations. These take the form of service provider agreements that are made on the basis of the National Park's economic policy and Article 15 a in the National Park Code.
Private business contracts include conditions that sustainability and nature conservation shall be ensured while providing high-quality experiences. They also address safety requirements for visitors, and according to the Act on the Icelandic Tourist Board no. 96/2018 anyone intending to perform organised tours within Icelandic territory shall prepare a written safety plan for each type of tour. For further information go to the website of the Icelandic Tourist Board.
For destinations that require management, the usual procedure is to issue announcements to invite applications from companies that are interested in providing their services there. It is stated in these announcements whether limitations apply regarding the scope or number of private businesses who engage in comparable activities within the National Park or specific areas thereof.
Private business policy
Since the National Park was founded in 2007, it has been necessary to respond to the growing number of applications from operators who wish to conduct business with facilities or in specific locations within the National Park. For this reason, conditions regarding private business contracts were included in the National Park Code in 2016 and its private business policy was approved in 2019.
Current contracts with private businesses
Vatnajökull National Park makes contracts with companies that wish to provide services to their customers within the national park, especially at popular destinations. This site provides an overview of companies with current contracts, contract durations, and more.
More information
Here you can access all data related to agreements, procedures and more regarding commercial activities within Vatnajökull National Park. Note that all the materials are in Icelandic.
Application for private buisness activities in Vatnajökull National Park
Commercial activities in Vatnajökull National Park are defined in Regulation No. 300/2020 as services offered for a fee by others than the national park itself within the boundaries of the national park. Traditional land use within the national park and activities related to it are not considered commercial activities.
Inquiries about commercial activities can be sent to [email protected]