This year will mark the first time in history that visitors from United States will outnumber Iceland’s population, which is 332,000. This are the findings of American news site Vox which dived into data compiled by The Icelandic Tourist Board (ITB). Vox published yesterday an interesting news report about the ongoing tourism boom in Iceland.
According to the ITB data Vox is quoting, the largest portion of visitors to Iceland hails from the United States and the growth is stunning. Around 325,000 Americans have already visited Iceland in 2016, compared with 51,000 in 2010. That’s a six-fold increase.
2015 was the first year that visitors from the States topped the list of tourists in Iceland, edging travellers from Britain down into the second seat (where they remain this year) followed by visitors from Germany, France and Norway.
Vox looks into why Iceland has become such a popular destination (the traffic has more than tripled since 2010) and while some conclusions hit home, other look quite elaborated.
What is undisputed is that the 2010 eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano put the spot light on Iceland. It was felt around the northern hemisphere when the dispersal of the ash cloud shut down all aviation across the North Atlantic.
Vox also mention that Iceland has been declared the most peaceful country in the world for 10 consecutive years. Which must be a big factor with large parts of the Middle East and North Africa descending into chaos following the Arab Spring, making the regions a no-go-zone for many, and then some countries in Europe being hit with terrorism last summer.
Read more: Iceland safest destination for solo female travellers, says travel blogger
We would like to add to the equation that following Iceland's spectacular 2008 financial crash, the devaluation of króna, Iceland's currency, made travelling to the country quite affordable, although prices are on their way up again.
But in the end we think the factors above would count for little if the visit to Iceland is not making people happy.
In the age of social media the importance of the word of mouth is enormous, as David Solomito, vice president of marketing at Kayak, says when asked by Vox about Iceland’s recent popularity.
“It’s not too far (from Boston or New York, it’s a quick flight) — but when you’re there, it feels like you’re on a different planet,” he says “People see pictures on social media and think it’s on Mars. It feels out of this world. It has that Instagram factor.”
This year will mark the first time in history that visitors from United States will outnumber Iceland’s population, which is 332,000. This are the findings of American news site Vox which dived into data compiled by The Icelandic Tourist Board (ITB). Vox published yesterday an interesting news report about the ongoing tourism boom in Iceland.
According to the ITB data Vox is quoting, the largest portion of visitors to Iceland hails from the United States and the growth is stunning. Around 325,000 Americans have already visited Iceland in 2016, compared with 51,000 in 2010. That’s a six-fold increase.
2015 was the first year that visitors from the States topped the list of tourists in Iceland, edging travellers from Britain down into the second seat (where they remain this year) followed by visitors from Germany, France and Norway.
Vox looks into why Iceland has become such a popular destination (the traffic has more than tripled since 2010) and while some conclusions hit home, other look quite elaborated.
What is undisputed is that the 2010 eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano put the spot light on Iceland. It was felt around the northern hemisphere when the dispersal of the ash cloud shut down all aviation across the North Atlantic.
Vox also mention that Iceland has been declared the most peaceful country in the world for 10 consecutive years. Which must be a big factor with large parts of the Middle East and North Africa descending into chaos following the Arab Spring, making the regions a no-go-zone for many, and then some countries in Europe being hit with terrorism last summer.
Read more: Iceland safest destination for solo female travellers, says travel blogger
We would like to add to the equation that following Iceland's spectacular 2008 financial crash, the devaluation of króna, Iceland's currency, made travelling to the country quite affordable, although prices are on their way up again.
But in the end we think the factors above would count for little if the visit to Iceland is not making people happy.
In the age of social media the importance of the word of mouth is enormous, as David Solomito, vice president of marketing at Kayak, says when asked by Vox about Iceland’s recent popularity.
“It’s not too far (from Boston or New York, it’s a quick flight) — but when you’re there, it feels like you’re on a different planet,” he says “People see pictures on social media and think it’s on Mars. It feels out of this world. It has that Instagram factor.”
