Presse release
17 February 2021
It will be the Icelander Hjörtur Smarason who takes the director’s chair at Visit Greenland from the 1st of April. He replaces Julia Pars, who will step down at the end of February after three years in the position. Hjörtur Smarason has a Master’s degree from Copenhagen Business School and many years’ experience in branding and communication. He has previously worked with communication strategies, tourism development and crisis management for destinations in the Arctic, Asia and Africa.
“Our outgoing director, Julia Pars, leaves a Visit Greenland with a solid strategic starting point, with a strategy that has really put sustainability in focus,” says the Chairman of the Board for Visit Greenland, Anette Grønkjær Lings, and continues:
“Visit Greenland faces two particularly important tasks at this time: restarting tourism with the near markets as particular focus areas, and an ambitious branding effort that will contribute to making the most of Greenland’s new infrastructural opportunities. In the selection of a new director, we have prioritised branding competencies and experience with the start-up of tourism. The employees at Visit Greenland are highly specialised and committed, and it was a crucial factor that Hjörtur has a solid foundation in the management of knowledge teams, ”says Anette Grønkjær Lings.
As the new director, Hjörtur Smarason will be at the forefront of realising Visit Greenland’s 2021 – 2024 strategy, “Towards more tourism,” which has the aim to increase tourism to the country and make it more sustainable. He will also work on a new, ambitious branding campaign to make the country a more popular adventure destination. But one item in particular is at the top of the new director’s to-do list:
“Tourism in Greenland is entering a very exciting period, during which the new airports will open up completely new possibilities: a period of investment and product development which will create a number of new, exciting jobs in the country. I’m really looking forward to meeting with the Greenlandic tourism industry and participating in the development that Greenland is about to enter into. However, the first priority will be the development of strategies to helps tourism companies land on their feet on the other side of the corona crisis, ”says Hjörtur Smarason.
In the period between Julia Pars’ departure as director and Hjörtur Smarason’s start, Deputy Director Mads-Daniel Skifte will act as Acting Director.
For more information:
Hjörtur Smarason
Mobile +45 22801416
hjortur@visitgreenland.com
Chairman: Anette Grønkjær Lings
Mobile 528616
anette@hotelsisimiut.gl
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