Record increase in tourist numbers
Photo: Golli
Over 517,000 foreign tourists visited Iceland in the first half of 2015, almost 29% more than in the first half of 2014, according to new Icelandic Tourist Board figures.
“Given these figures, we could be looking at a record increase in tourist numbers this year,” says Halldór Arinbjarnarson, Information Manager at the Icelandic Tourist Board. “Year-on-year increases in recent years have been around 20%, but this year I think we could reach 25%.”
Tourist numbers in Iceland have quadrupled since 2002, with visitors from the United States increasing in number by 600% since that time.
This trend is mirrored by increasing numbers of Icelanders flying to international destinations. According to Icelandic Tourist Board figures, 208,000 Icelanders left on flights out of Iceland in the first six months of 2015 – 23,700 more than in the same period last year.
