VIDEO: How destinations can consider new roles and strategies

Arguably the biggest challenge for a destination trying to market itself amid a global pandemic is how to do so when people can’t travel.

For Visit Iceland, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the destination marketing organization aimed to keep the conversation going with travelers amid the shutdown by addressing the frustrating conditions.

“We tried to offer something from Iceland to relieve the stress of the situation,” says head of Visit Iceland Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, which resulted in campaign that highlighted a popular stay-at-home activity: doomscrolling.

Recently, Visit Iceland tapped into another online event that had people talking: the introduction of Mark Zuckerberg’s “metaverse,” expected to be virtual reality-enhanced spaces where individuals can interact online.

In response, Visit Iceland launched “Icelandverse,” a comedic play on the metaverse idea designed to “talk about the reality that is Iceland and to showcase what Iceland has to offer without VR goggles,” Guðmundsdóttir says.

The video went viral – receiving praise from Zuckerberg himself- and has more than six million views, she says.

Speaking at PhocusWire Pulse: Emerging Innovation in December, Guðmundsdóttir describes how the Icelandverse campaign came together, as well as how the destination is using technology to fuel sustainability efforts and why she doesn’t fear overtourism in the country.

Watch the full interview with PhocusWire’s Jill Menze below.