Friðrik’s Story

Friðrik Árnason, from Njarðvík to Breiðdalsvík

Friðrik Árnason was born in Reykjavík on 6 April 1977 but grew up in Njarðvík. He attended Njarðvíkurskóli, graduating in 1993, and then studied at Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja. After a few years in working life, Friðrik went to Denmark and graduated with a BSc in Value Chain Management from VIA University in the spring of 2009.

Friðrik has been involved in tourism since 1991, when he was only 13 years old. He worked in accommodation services at Njarðvíkurskóli and looked after the Geysir car rental during the summers. In 1994 he worked at Hótel Kristín in Njarðvík and ran the hotel himself, and in 2000 he started working for the tour operator Geysir.

Hótel Breiðdalsvík, since 2009

In 2009 Friðrik bought Hótel Bláfell in Breiðdalsvík, together with his then wife: “There I have invested in a great deal of development over recent years. The hotel now has more than 40 rooms, a restaurant, a supermarket and a café, along with apartments and a conference and dining hall for 400 people.”

In the autumn of 2015 Friðrik bought the travel agency Travel East Iceland and now runs it alongside the hotel. Friðrik also works as marketing manager for SBK in Keflavík and is a member of the Icelandic Activity Association.

Interests

Friðrik’s interests are his children, his family, tourism, travel, the outdoors and photography. “Tourism is my bread and butter; after all, I started working in this sector at 13 and had my own business two years later.”

Friðrik has three children, Sindri (born 2000), Logi (born 2006) and Emilía Glóð (born 2008). He photographs nature and has an interest in search-and-rescue work; his father was in fact the chairman of the Scout Rescue Team in Njarðvík for more than a decade.