by Hugh Morris, The Telegraph, October 11, 2017
Iceland’s meteoric rise in popularity has not, unsurprisingly, correlated with a growth in the number of people able to speak the language.
This is because the nation’s Mother Tongue requires an oral dexterity few outside the northern European island are blessed with - everyone remembers the ash cloud devastation caused by that unpronouncable volcano, right? Repeat after me: Eyjafjallajokull.
But that hasn’t stopped the Icelandic tourist board from encouraging visitors to learn a few choice words in a new promotional music video.
Entitled ‘The Hardest Karaoke Song in the World’, the song runs through the Icelandic alphabet from A to Ö (all 32 letters) with a few choice stops along the way. Inspired by Iceland has even produced a sequel, in which tourists attempt to sing the track - poorly.
In between learning the Icelandic for breakfast (morgunmatur) and swimming pools (sundlaugar), the video shows off the island’s tourist attractions, from its mighty waterfalls and lava plains to its friendly sheep and traditional elves.
The video is not the first of note from the Icelandic tourist board. Last year, Inspired by Iceland released a guide on “how to avoid hot tub awkwardness”, as a nod to the nation’s many springs.
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The video was part of the Iceland Academy series, initially launched to encourage responsible behaviour from tourists.
In March the tourism authority said: “The majority of tourists want to experience nature, and we know that Icelandic nature must be treated with respect and care.”
While Iceland’s video offerings have been variously positive, the same cannot be said for all promotional films. Several years ago, Telegraph Travel took it upon themselves to rank some of the worst. See them here.
This article was written by Hugh Morris from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].
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