According to analysis by economists at Landsbankinn the GDP of Iceland will grow by 6.1% in 2016, primarily thanks to the growth in tourism. The number of foreign visitors is expected to grow by 35% in 2016, compared to 2017. Without the tourism industry the growth in GDP would be just 1.2% this year, or just barely a fifth of what Landsbankinn is predicting.
Read more: Icelandic GDP per capita 10th highest in Europe in 2015: 23% above the EU average
The importance of the growth in the tourism industry is expected to continue over the next several years. Landsbankinn expects the growth in the number of foreign travellers visiting Iceland to slow down over the next three years, to 25% in 2017, 10% in 2018 and 8% in 2019.
At the same time the contribution of the growth in tourism to economic growth will decrease, although it will continue to be quite significant: In the absence of any growth in tourism Landsbankinn expects economic growth in Iceland to be on average 1.9% annually over the 2017-2019 period, but when the effects of tourism is added the figure will rise to 4.2%.
According to analysis by economists at Landsbankinn the GDP of Iceland will grow by 6.1% in 2016, primarily thanks to the growth in tourism. The number of foreign visitors is expected to grow by 35% in 2016, compared to 2017. Without the tourism industry the growth in GDP would be just 1.2% this year, or just barely a fifth of what Landsbankinn is predicting.
Read more: Icelandic GDP per capita 10th highest in Europe in 2015: 23% above the EU average
The importance of the growth in the tourism industry is expected to continue over the next several years. Landsbankinn expects the growth in the number of foreign travellers visiting Iceland to slow down over the next three years, to 25% in 2017, 10% in 2018 and 8% in 2019.
At the same time the contribution of the growth in tourism to economic growth will decrease, although it will continue to be quite significant: In the absence of any growth in tourism Landsbankinn expects economic growth in Iceland to be on average 1.9% annually over the 2017-2019 period, but when the effects of tourism is added the figure will rise to 4.2%.
