Football fans boost passenger numbers
Never have more Icelanders travelled abroad in September than this year, according to new figures from Icelandic bank Íslandsbanki.
A record total of 43,900 Icelandic international passengers left the country last month, up over 17% from September 2014.
This increase can be explained to some extent by the Iceland-Holland Euro 2016 qualifier which took place in Amsterdam on September 6. An estimated 3,000 Iceland football fans were at the game – the highest following ever for an Iceland football match abroad.
According to Íslandsbanki, this 17% increase is in line with other economic indicators and gives a clear indication of the considerable surge in spending by Icelanders in recent times.
Numbers of departing Icelandic passengers in the first nine months of the year have reached 337,000, 13% up on last year. The only years where this number has even been exceeded are 2007 and 2008.
Related article:
Photo: Eva Björk Ægisdóttir
