I’m sorry to hear that tourism has been negatively affected recently, as I imagine the island depends on it. For me, it is simply an insurmountable expense. A few years ago I could’ve managed it if other circumstances had been amenable, but now everything must go to basic survival: a clean, dry and warm place to live; enough to eat; clothing; hot water for showers; wifi so I can read about places like Iceland…yhere is nothing left over for travel.
I am in Iceland right now and the most common reaction I've had when I was telling (very few) people about my plan a few weeks ago was "oh, be ware the volcanoes there"...I think your post makes sense. Still I've been to a few touristy places and trips and it does not seem to be very...uncrowded. Of course the professionals have other data at their disposal. Btw, just finished reading reports about earthquake swarms at Pozzuoli, right next to Naples, in Italy, where half a million people live right in the middle of a 10 km crater at Campi Flegrei...just saying. It's all a matter of media communication.
I’m not sure I agree that it’s the volcanoes. I would bet it’s inflation. Stuff is expensive these days and Iceland isn’t a cheap vacation even in normal times. The tourist boom seems to have started after the banking crisis when everything was really cheap there.
Iceland was quick to bounce back, though, after the crisis, and the greatest boom was when things were back to normal price-wise. But I take your point, there is now inflation across the world, that may be a factor, for sure.
My two cents on this from being on the VisitingIceland subreddit for a few years now is that people are discouraged from trying to book, say, summer visits in the spring because it’s too late — everything is booked up. The common wisdom is that if you didn’t book your summer trip at the beginning of the year (or earlier), then you will either not be able to find accommodations “at the last minute” (meaning a mere few months in advance) or only very expensive options will be available. I see this advice all the time and it makes sense because it’s been true in the past.
Your post is the first I’ve heard that bookings are down. Do you have a source with data that can be shared? I’d be happy to do a post on the subreddit.
Hi Josh, yes there has been much talk about this here in Iceland in the past few months, and key players in the tourism industry have urged the government to launch a marketing campaign similar to Inspired by Iceland, back in the day. I'm in a Facebook group for tourism industry professionals and they're all talking about this. Here are a few links, they are all in Icelandic, though - maybe google translate can help you get the gist? This is not exhaustive btw, there's been a lot of talk about this, also "on the street", people I meet who sell my books, etc.
So many more places to soak than just the Blue Lagoon. If tourist numbers are down, this is a great time to visit the fantastically beautiful country of Iceland. It is my favorite place to visit !
The volcano eruption was a highlight of my recent trip and we had the experience of a lifetime in our helicopter ride around the erupting crater.
I’m sorry to hear that tourism has been negatively affected recently, as I imagine the island depends on it. For me, it is simply an insurmountable expense. A few years ago I could’ve managed it if other circumstances had been amenable, but now everything must go to basic survival: a clean, dry and warm place to live; enough to eat; clothing; hot water for showers; wifi so I can read about places like Iceland…yhere is nothing left over for travel.
I am in Iceland right now and the most common reaction I've had when I was telling (very few) people about my plan a few weeks ago was "oh, be ware the volcanoes there"...I think your post makes sense. Still I've been to a few touristy places and trips and it does not seem to be very...uncrowded. Of course the professionals have other data at their disposal. Btw, just finished reading reports about earthquake swarms at Pozzuoli, right next to Naples, in Italy, where half a million people live right in the middle of a 10 km crater at Campi Flegrei...just saying. It's all a matter of media communication.
I’m not sure I agree that it’s the volcanoes. I would bet it’s inflation. Stuff is expensive these days and Iceland isn’t a cheap vacation even in normal times. The tourist boom seems to have started after the banking crisis when everything was really cheap there.
Iceland was quick to bounce back, though, after the crisis, and the greatest boom was when things were back to normal price-wise. But I take your point, there is now inflation across the world, that may be a factor, for sure.
My two cents on this from being on the VisitingIceland subreddit for a few years now is that people are discouraged from trying to book, say, summer visits in the spring because it’s too late — everything is booked up. The common wisdom is that if you didn’t book your summer trip at the beginning of the year (or earlier), then you will either not be able to find accommodations “at the last minute” (meaning a mere few months in advance) or only very expensive options will be available. I see this advice all the time and it makes sense because it’s been true in the past.
Your post is the first I’ve heard that bookings are down. Do you have a source with data that can be shared? I’d be happy to do a post on the subreddit.
Hi Josh, yes there has been much talk about this here in Iceland in the past few months, and key players in the tourism industry have urged the government to launch a marketing campaign similar to Inspired by Iceland, back in the day. I'm in a Facebook group for tourism industry professionals and they're all talking about this. Here are a few links, they are all in Icelandic, though - maybe google translate can help you get the gist? This is not exhaustive btw, there's been a lot of talk about this, also "on the street", people I meet who sell my books, etc.
https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2023/11/20/byrjadir_ad_afboka_eda_faera_til_bokanir/
https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2023/11/16/ferdamenn_afboka_af_hraedslu_vid_eldgos/
https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2023/11/19/hefur_ahrif_a_ferdathjonustuna/
https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2023/11/22/neikvaed_umraeda_erlendra_fjolmidla_hefur_ahrif/
https://www.mbl.is/vidskipti/frettir/2023/11/21/jardhraeringar_haegja_a_bokunum_icelandair/
So many more places to soak than just the Blue Lagoon. If tourist numbers are down, this is a great time to visit the fantastically beautiful country of Iceland. It is my favorite place to visit !
Exactly -- there are so many other places. Sky Lagoon, for instance, which I vastly prefer to the BL.