An overwhelming majority of Reykjavík residents has not been inconvenienced by the growing numbers of Airbnb apartments in the city a new study reveals. The study also reveals that the majority of Reykjavík residents are positive toward tourism. Negative views are most common in suburban neighborhoods where very few foreign travellers venture.
Read more: From the editor: Is there an angry backlash against tourism in Iceland?
The study, which was commissioned by Visit Reykjavík, the city's tourism board, reveals that just 13.4% of Reykjavík residents say they have experienced or noticed some negative effects of Airbnb apartments. The vast majority, or 73,8% say they have not noticed any negative effects from Airbnb apartments on their immediate neighborhood or the city in general.
Suburbanites less positive toward tourism
Two thirds, or 66.8% of Reykjavík residents also say they are either very or somewhat positive toward foreign travellers in the city. The only neighborhoods where significant negative views were registered were Breiðholt neighborhood, where 39% of residents said they held negative views of the impact of tourism on the city. Breiðholt is spread over two hills on the eastern outskirts of Reykjavík, with its highrises and multi-home apartment buildings it has the largest concentration of low-income housing in Reykjavík.
The other neighborhood which registered negative views of tourism's impact on Reykjavík was the middle-class suburban municipality of Mosfellsbær, where 42.1% said they had a negative view of tourism in Reykjavík. The Ring Road to West Iceland, as well as the road to Þingvellir National Park and the Golden Circle, run through Mosfellsbær.
An overwhelming majority of Reykjavík residents has not been inconvenienced by the growing numbers of Airbnb apartments in the city a new study reveals. The study also reveals that the majority of Reykjavík residents are positive toward tourism. Negative views are most common in suburban neighborhoods where very few foreign travellers venture.
Read more: From the editor: Is there an angry backlash against tourism in Iceland?
The study, which was commissioned by Visit Reykjavík, the city's tourism board, reveals that just 13.4% of Reykjavík residents say they have experienced or noticed some negative effects of Airbnb apartments. The vast majority, or 73,8% say they have not noticed any negative effects from Airbnb apartments on their immediate neighborhood or the city in general.
Suburbanites less positive toward tourism
Two thirds, or 66.8% of Reykjavík residents also say they are either very or somewhat positive toward foreign travellers in the city. The only neighborhoods where significant negative views were registered were Breiðholt neighborhood, where 39% of residents said they held negative views of the impact of tourism on the city. Breiðholt is spread over two hills on the eastern outskirts of Reykjavík, with its highrises and multi-home apartment buildings it has the largest concentration of low-income housing in Reykjavík.
The other neighborhood which registered negative views of tourism's impact on Reykjavík was the middle-class suburban municipality of Mosfellsbær, where 42.1% said they had a negative view of tourism in Reykjavík. The Ring Road to West Iceland, as well as the road to Þingvellir National Park and the Golden Circle, run through Mosfellsbær.
