Tag: Iceland
Iceland closes Justin Bieber canyon till June
Reykjavik (TAN): The Iceland government has closed the popular Fjadrargljufur canyon to the public in order to conserve its fragile ecosystem that has been affected by a humid winter and a large number of tourists, media reports said.
The relatively unknown canyon has been flooded by tourists since being featured in a 2015 Justin Bieber ‘I’ll Show You’ music video. Fjadrargljufur is around 100 meters deep and some 2km long with steep green walls and a meandering riverbed.
I’ll Show You has 440 million views on YouTube. Continue reading Iceland closes Justin Bieber canyon till June
Continued whaling may repel tourists, fears Iceland tourism industry
Reykjavik (TAN): The tourism industry is not happy with the Iceland government’s recent announcement that it would continue whaling for another five years, Quartz reported.
Iceland has witnessed a tourism boom over the past several years, especially with the hit TV series Game of Thrones showing its breathtaking landscapes. In 2016, tourism revenue for the first time outstripped that of fishing.
With the tourism growth already showing signs of stabilising, the industry doesn’t want anything else to slow growth. The Icelandic Travel Industry Association argues while Iceland’s “market for whale meat is Japan, Norway and the Republic of Palau”, the country’s tourism market “is the entire globe”. Continue reading Continued whaling may repel tourists, fears Iceland tourism industry
US tour operators name Italy as 2019 ‘hot’ destination
December 19 (NITN): The tour operator members of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) have named Italy the most popular or “hot” destination for travellers in 2019, a recent survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) revealed.
The top 10 “hot” destinations for the coming year also include Iceland, which ranked second, followed by Japan, Vietnam, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, Cambodia and Portugal.
USTOA members also identified their top 10 off-the-beaten path or emerging destinations that they see gaining popularity in 2019: Iceland ranked first, Cambodia ranked second, followed by Croatia, Colombia, Vietnam, Portugal, Bhutan, Bolivia, Myanmar, and Ethiopia.
Continue reading US tour operators name Italy as 2019 ‘hot’ destination
Iceland mulls capping tourist numbers
October 20 (TravelAndy): The tourism minister of Iceland has proposed limiting the number of tourists to certain sites in the island country, media reports said.
According to the Reykjavík Grapevine Magazine, minister Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir has furnished a report in parliament that says specific sites are reeling from the adverse affects of over-tourism and contended that these places couldn’t withstand more pressure from tourism.
The minister wants a pilot project in place to see how caps can be imposed on the number of tourists allowed in specific areas. The talks of such project have been doing the round over the past five years but nothing specific has been done to this effect. Continue reading Iceland mulls capping tourist numbers
Wow Air to fly Reykjavik-Miami from 2017
September 9 (TravelAndy): Icelandic low cost airline, Wow Air has announced the launch of flight routes between Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland to Miami in Florida, USA, from April 6, 2017.
The airline plans to operate three flights a week, onTuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The one-way inaugural fare on this route is USD99, said the airline. Continue reading Wow Air to fly Reykjavik-Miami from 2017
Wow Air launches Bristol-New York flight
July 4 (TravelAndy): Iceland’s budget airline Wow Air has launched a new route from Bristol in England to New York, via Iceland.
Tickets for this economy only route starts from GBP 119, said the airline.
This marks the airline’s first route to New York, U.S.A. Continue reading Wow Air launches Bristol-New York flight
Iceland woos Indian visitors
April 16 (TravelAndy): Iceland is looking to woo more Indian tourists, following the popularity of the song Gerua from the Bollywood movie Dilwale, that was picturised in the country.
The video of the song features the hit Bollywood pair of superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol and the interest of Indian travelers to visit Iceland has climbed since the song became popular in the subcontinent. Continue reading Iceland woos Indian visitors
British Airways to fly to Reykjavik, Salzburg
May 9 (TravelAndy): Iceland has always been incredibly beautiful, but the number of tourists heading to this country has increased many fold since the phenomenon called Game of Thrones made its presence felt on TV. Parts of the series have been shot in Iceland.
Travel service providers, of course, have been cashing in on the increased flow of tourists.
The latest development in this sector concerns British Airways, which has announced that it will be introducing three flights a week to Iceland’s capital Reykjavik from October 25. It will also start a twice-a-week flight to Salzburg in Austria, from December 5. Continue reading British Airways to fly to Reykjavik, Salzburg