Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Iceland Today
A decade or two back, Iceland began to carve itself a niche in the collective
global conscience thanks to quirky musicians achieving unexpected interna-
tional success. Then it really hit the headlines, with a collapsed banking sys-
tem in 2008 and an unpronounceable, plane-grounding volcanic eruption in
2010. But these events have proved that there's no such thing as bad publi-
city: all that free exposure put Iceland's charms under the spotlight, and tour-
ism has boomed.
Tourism: the 'New Klondike'?
Earth-rending eruptions are par for the course in Iceland, so the international attention
garnered by Eyjafjallajökull's ash-filled outburst was truly unusual to the local population.
The Iceland tourism board quickly capitalised on the event by launching its 'Inspired By
Iceland' campaign, and the push for more tourists became a smash hit - frustrations from
the continent transformed into curiosity, and travellers started arriving. Word quickly
spread: Iceland's natural beauty is astounding and its people welcoming (the world's most
welcoming, according to the World Economic Forum ranking in 2013, in a report that ex-
amined 140 countries based on travel and tourism competitiveness).
And so began the 'new Klondike', as some locals have described it: the boom in busi-
nesses catering to the boom in tourists. Iceland has been registering record-breaking tourist
numbers: it hosted around 1 million international visitors in 2014 (up from 489,000 in
2010), with no signs of a slow-down - especially if the country's volcanoes continue to
provide spectacles that capture media and traveller attention (case in point: 2014's Bárðar-
bunga eruption). Winter visitor numbers are also spiking, with every traveller's bucket list
now seemingly topped by 'see Northern Lights'.
The Good with the Bad
There's little escape from the tourist rush in the peak of summer, especially in Reykjavík
and the south (where most visitors spend time). Locals are generally welcoming - to a
point. When polled, Icelanders acknowledge the economic recovery tourism has stimulated,
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