Many in the Icelandic tourism industry breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when the Tourism Board released its figures for the number of foreign visitors in May: The number of visitors who passed through Keflavík Airport, the only international airport in Iceland, increased by 13.2%. April saw the first drop in visitor numbers since 2010 when the industry took off, and many had feared the figures would show a drop.
A total of 165,000 foreign travelers visited Iceland in May, 19,200 more than in 2017. The 13.2% increase is a significantly smaller year-over-year increase than we have seen in May in recent years: 2017 saw a staggering 46.5% increase over 2016. A total of 793,500 travelers have visited Iceland during the first five months of the year, a 5.6% increase over 2017.
The single largest group of travelers came from the US. 31.2% of foreign visitors in May came from the US. German travelers made up the second largest group, 7.2% of the total, followed closely by British travelers who made up 6.4% of the total. The number of American travelers continues to increase year over year, by 18.3%, while the number of British travelers has dropped by 6.3%.
The Icelandic Tourism Board notes that the composition of foreign travelers has changed in recent years. American travelers make up an increasingly large share of the total, while that of British and Nordic visitors has dropped. Travelers from outside Europe or North America has also increased significantly
Many in the Icelandic tourism industry breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when the Tourism Board released its figures for the number of foreign visitors in May: The number of visitors who passed through Keflavík Airport, the only international airport in Iceland, increased by 13.2%. April saw the first drop in visitor numbers since 2010 when the industry took off, and many had feared the figures would show a drop.
A total of 165,000 foreign travelers visited Iceland in May, 19,200 more than in 2017. The 13.2% increase is a significantly smaller year-over-year increase than we have seen in May in recent years: 2017 saw a staggering 46.5% increase over 2016. A total of 793,500 travelers have visited Iceland during the first five months of the year, a 5.6% increase over 2017.
The single largest group of travelers came from the US. 31.2% of foreign visitors in May came from the US. German travelers made up the second largest group, 7.2% of the total, followed closely by British travelers who made up 6.4% of the total. The number of American travelers continues to increase year over year, by 18.3%, while the number of British travelers has dropped by 6.3%.
The Icelandic Tourism Board notes that the composition of foreign travelers has changed in recent years. American travelers make up an increasingly large share of the total, while that of British and Nordic visitors has dropped. Travelers from outside Europe or North America has also increased significantly
