The mist-clad cliffs rise sharply from the North Atlantic, waves crashing against basalt rock, with tiny villages perched above fjords and green hills rolling into the sea.
This is the Faroe Islands: raw, dramatic, intimate. For many visitors, it feels like stepping into a place built less by human hands and more by the soul of the earth itself.
But beauty alone doesn’t protect itself. Over recent years, as the appeal of the Faroes spread through social media, glossy travel magazines, and word-of-mouth, the islands confronted a question many remote destinations now face: How can we welcome people without changing the things people came to find?
The Faroese answer has been thoughtful, deliberate, and guided by both community and conscience.
Intentional Tourism: Roots in Partnership and Place
Tourism in the Faroes was never accidental. Long before visitors arrived in large numbers, people here lived in close relation to the land—navigating steep mountain trails, tending sheep on pastures carved into hillsides, traveling by boats between islands. These rhythms remain part of daily life.
Recognizing that this change could overwhelm the landscape—or the people—the Faroese government, businesses, and local residents have begun shaping a model of tourism that is grounded in respect. It includes volunteer maintenance, protection of trails, and the insistence that benefits flow to local villages—not just to the capital or tour operators.
Closed for Maintenance: Giving Back, Together
One of the most tangible expressions of this model is the “Closed for Maintenance” program. Once or more each year, many of the islands’ most popular sites are closed to ordinary tourists for several days. In their place, volunteer groups—often mixed locals and foreigners—work on trail repairs, signage restoration, safety improvements, and erosion control.
In May 2025, for example, from 1 to 3 May, the Faroes again closed major tourism sites to all but about 80 volunteers. These volunteers came from dozens of countries; more than 23,000 had applied, making acceptance harder than entry to many selective programs.
These volunteers don’t just fix stone steps—they carry stories. They work alongside farmers who know the land, and locals who remember trails before tourism boomed. They help preserve not only the routes but the relationship between people and place.
Law, Regulation, and Fees: Putting Structure Around Sustainability
While voluntourism displays the values in action, the Faroes understood that values alone could easily be stretched too thin. That’s where law and regulation step in as the framework to make sustainability durable—not just aspirational.
The Sustainable Tourism Law (2024)
In May 2024 the Faroese parliament passed a law on sustainable tourism after long consultations with farmers, tourism operators, and environmental groups. Some worried about land being overrun; others about new fees or restrictions affecting access. Supporters argued that without regulation, the delicate natural and cultural heritage would suffer irreversible damage.
Key features include:
- Tourist Sustainability Fee: Hotel guests aged 16+ pay roughly 20 Faroese Krona per night, capped per stay, funding path maintenance and visitor infrastructure.
- Regulated Hiking and Trail Access: Certain trails that cross private land now require agreements; high-traffic areas may involve access fees, and paths can be closed during lambing season or severe weather.
- Community Empowerment: Local councils can set limits and control visitor flows, ensuring that rural voices help shape tourism policy.
Monitoring, Enforcement, and Balance
Passing a law is one thing; implementing it well is another. The Faroese sustainability policy (Varðveit Føroyar – Preserve the Faroe Islands) explains how Visit Faroe Islands and industry partners will monitor environmental impact, distribute visitors more evenly, and align with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Private landowners now have legal clarity on trail use and, when appropriate, compensation for tourist access, helping reduce conflict between farmers and visitors.
Real Concerns, Real Voices
Laws and programs emerge from the worries locals carry. Across the Faroes, farmers speak of trails cutting through grazing land, and village elders lament when visitors walk across land their families have tended for generations. Tourism operators warn that unchecked growth could lead to degraded trails, more accidents, and strained infrastructure.
Tourism now generates around €125 million annually—roughly 6% of GDP—so its importance cannot be understated. But Faroese leaders look to Iceland’s experience and emphasize: growth must be steady and respectful, not overwhelming.
Balancing Act: What Is Being Protected
The Faroese are not just protecting cliffs and trails but the entire interaction between people and place.
- Nature: Fragile ecosystems, bird colonies, and soft volcanic soils that can erode under heavy footfall.
- Culture: Traditional sheep grazing, local food, language, folklore, and ways of working with the land.
- Social Fabric: Small communities with limited infrastructure, where tourism could easily disrupt daily life if left unmanaged.
Hope in Action: What Is Already Working
- Trails have been stabilized and signed; erosion is being slowed thanks to volunteer weekends.
- The new fee system ensures dedicated funding for maintenance.
- Visitor numbers are being spread more evenly across the islands to avoid overcrowding.
- Local voices are more present in tourism planning, and community-based tourism is gaining support.
Looking Ahead: Challenges and Possibilities
The Faroes still face big questions: how to enforce regulations equally on remote islands, how to educate tourists about respectful behavior, and how to maintain traditional practices while modernizing infrastructure.
Yet with every repaired trail, every law passed, and every community heard, the Faroes are showing the world that tourism can coexist with nature and culture—if it is guided by respect.
Conclusion
The Faroe Islands are far more than a scenic backdrop. They are a living place, shaped by wind, sea, and the people who call them home. Sustainable tourism here is not just an economic choice but a moral one: an invitation to travelers to care for what they came to admire.
Instead of chasing ever-higher numbers, the Faroese are building a model where stewardship, respect, and community thrive alongside adventure. In doing so, they remind us that travel can still leave the world better than we found it.
