South Iceland more or less fully booked

“There are still a lot of queries coming for the summer but we unfortunately just need to turn people away, because our situation is such that the summer is more or less sold out,” says Sara Ósk Rúnarsdóttir, receptionist at the Fosshotel Jökulsárlón.

The same can be said of most accommodations in South Iceland, but a journalist from mbl.is took the position on several of them.

According to the latest tourism forecast there are up to 2.2 million tourists travelling to Iceland this year.

The glaciers attract

Sigurlaug Gissurardóttir, owner of the Brunnóll Guest House located under Vatnajökull glacier, says that the summer is sold out until September. She says that a lot of people are calling og emailing to check for accommodation but they are fully booked all summer at Brunnhóll. Gissurardóttir says that 98% of the visitors are foreigners and most of them come from the United States and Northern Europe. She also says that it is obvious that more people need to be hired this summer because of the situation. When asked why the South has such an attraction, she replies that it is because of the glaciers.

“No one wants to come to the country and miss the glaciers.”

You are lucky if you get a place to stay

Arna Kristín Hilmarsdóttir, managing director of Hótel Vík in Mýrdal, says many nationalities visit the hotel, but the proportion of Icelanders staying with them is not high at this time. Now Americans and Germans are at the top of the list, followed by the Italians, the British and the French. Usually guests stop for a night or two, but a few stay for longer periods. Hilmarsdóttir says it is common for people to sign up for a waiting list hoping something becomes available.

“If there are any cancellations, we’ll work with a waiting list, but the summertime is so popular and in such demand that it almost never comes to that.  During the summer, in this situation, you would be lucky if you get a place to stay.”

Hilmarsdóttir says why the popularity of this part of the country is mainly because there is a lot to see and experience in the south. She also mentions places like Reynisfjara, Reynisdrangar, Dyrhólaey and Hjörleifshöfði, but she also says that the beautiful hiking and glacier tours attract the tourists, and bird watching and horse riding are popular.

Busy, busy, busy!

The summer’s well underway, according to Rúnarsdóttir, Gissurardóttir and Hilmarsdóttir, who all say that the season is already crazy and the season is going well. This year’s peak season is fully booked like last year’s, but all of them are experiencing an increased influx of tourists to the country, as the season is getting longer with September also being popular with tourists.