Tourism brings money to Iceland. But Icelanders seem slowly to becoming more fed up with the crowds. Is the North Atlantic island nation heading for an overdose?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Why Iceland is worth a visit
On December 10, 2022, the European Film Awards, Europe's equivalent of the Oscars, will be presented in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. Here are some of Iceland's highlights.
Iceland is a country of contrasts, breathtakingly beautiful and home to extraordinary natural phenomena. Deserts, volcanoes, valleys, fjords, glaciers and many other landforms share the space here. A quarter of the country consists of volcanoes, 12% is covered by glaciers. A mere 1% of the island's surface is tree-covered.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/K. Irlmeier
Active volcanoes
In 2010 Iceland shot to attention when the volcano Eyjafjallajökull (picture) erupted: partly because of its name, which news presenters and reporters struggled to pronounce, and also because the cloud of ash it produced brought air traffic in Europe to a standstill. Iceland is the world's largest volcanic island. It has about 130 volcanoes, some 30 of which are classified as potentially active.
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White giants
Many volcanoes in Iceland are hidden under enormous masses of ice. The largest glacier, Vatnajökull, has a surface area as big as 1,200 soccer pitches. A tour of the ice cap is impressive, but should be undertaken only with a professional guide, because the ice is alive — new cracks and crevasses develop quickly.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/S. Ziese
Raging waterfalls
The glacial meltwater makes its way to the coast through numerous river channels and tumbles down hundreds of cascades, sometimes with incredible force, as with the Gullfoss, the Golden Waterfall. The immense size of this waterfall becomes clear when you compare it to the tiny-looking tourists on the plateau on the left side of the picture.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/K. Irlmeier
Seething Geysers
The water bubbles up to the surface and explodes: a 30-meter (98-foot) column of boiling water shoots into the air. The famous Strokkur ("Churn") Geyser erupts every few minutes and thrills tourists with its prodigious force. It's in Haukadalur valley, a geothermal area in southwestern Iceland.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/M. Lohmann
Hot springs
Not only Haukadalur possesses hot springs: They're distributed over the entire island and are sometimes used as hot pots and natural thermal baths. The best-known spring lies between Keflavik Airport and the capital, Reykjavik: the Blue Lagoon — a geothermal spa with naturally blue water that's rich in minerals. Bathing in it is reputed to help relieve some skin diseases.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Holschneider
Vibrant city life
Urban thrills are not what Iceland is typically known for; it's more associated with natural scenery. In fact, its population numbers are around 380,000. More than half the residents, about 200,000, live in the capital, Reykjavik (Smoky Bay), and its suburbs. The city has a lot to offer, especially in the boutiques, restaurants, bars and clubs along Laugavegur, the main shopping street.
Image: picture-alliance/U. Bernhart
Robust horses
Back to nature: The best way to explore it is in a jeep, on foot or on horseback. Icelandic horses play a large role on the island. They're not only a means of transportation, but also a source of income, because this robust breed has many fans. In the summer the animals graze freely in the highlands. Only in fall are they herded back to the valleys. The round-up is quite a spectacle.
Image: picture alliance/Arco Images/L. Weyers
Mythical creatures
If you travel through Iceland's fascinating countryside, you soon understand why many inhabitants believe in elves and trolls. There are even directories of living nature spirits and maps of where elves and dwarves live. Roads have to be built around such places so as not to disturb them. Is the rock in this picture also a troll? It has a name in any case: Hraunkarl.
Image: DW/E. Yorck von Wartenburg
Glowing night skies
In Iceland it never gets completely dark in the summer, and never completely light in the winter — but that means you can see the Northern Lights, or Aurora borealis, in the darkness. The best time is between early October and late March, when the colorful displays glow magically in the nighttime sky.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/W. Pattyn
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Though a steady stream of tourists has been a blessing for Iceland after the financial crash a decade ago, signs are emerging that local inhabitants are beginning to tire of the influx, an industry assessment said. "We are seeing some signs that the tolerance is getting lower, especially in the most popular areas," Helga Árnadóttir, director of the Icelandic Tourism Industry Association said.
As tourism is the North Atlantic island's second most important industry, this is something to take seriously, she says. "This is the biggest threat - the tolerance of the inhabitants," Arnadottir added.
According to Árnadóttir, tourism was a lifesaver for Iceland after the severe 2008 financial and banking crisis. Since 2010, the number of visitors has more than quadrupled in the small country of 330,000 people. And this year, financial institution Islandsbanki forecasts around 2.3 million visitors - a healthy 30-per-cent increase over 2016.
Blue Lagoon, ReykjavíkImage: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Holschneider
According to Islandsbanki, every fifth person in the country is a tourist during the summer months. In September, the national statistics office counted 378,300 overnight visits, with Germans being the most frequent visitors followed by US nationals. "Most Icelanders are still positive about tourism and understand its importance," Árnadóttir said. She suggests however that the industry may need to set some limits, saying that questions have to be answered as to the number of buildings in Reykjavik to be converted into hotels, the number of new restaurants to be built and the number of flats to be rented out. "These decisions must be made by the government," she said.
Locals complain mainly about vandalism, the introduction of entrance fees for national parks, price hikes and hotel construction sites. And there have been weeks of discussion over the past year about the lack of public toilets that has forced tourists to take advantage of shrubbery and other public spaces when nature calls. But on the positive side, tourism has enriched Iceland's quality of life in some respects, said Árnadóttir, noting that there are restaurants all over the country where there were once only hot dog kiosks.
Thingvellir national park - a World Heritage Site in south-western IcelandImage: picture-alliance/R. Goldmann
The aim of government and industry for visitors to come all year round - even in the dark winter. And that they would travel all over the country - not just to the south-west around the capital, Reykjavik. But the government must be more involved for this to happen, said Arnadottir. "The infrastructure like roads needs to be strengthened for this industry," she says, citing the need for roads to tourist destinations to be safe and passable even in winter.
According to Islandsbanki, tourists account for almost 40 per cent of Iceland's foreign exchange income. Each visitor contributes around 1,860 dollars to the domestic economy. Half of the jobs created since 2010 are directly or indirectly related to tourism. Further risks to Icelandic tourism over the past two years have been the unstable political situation and the exchange rate of the Icelandic krona, the head of the tourist association said. "The tourists do not stay so long because it is expensive," said Arnadottir.
"Solfar" (The Sun Voyager) - sculpture in the capital ReykjavikImage: picture-alliance/ZB/P. Pleul
Statistics suggest that in 2015 the prices for overnight stays and meals were 44 per cent above the EU average. Arnadottir therefore expects the tourism boom to weaken soon and settle into "normal growth" of three to five per cent.
