Greenland is set to control visitor rush as iceberg melts

Monday, August 22, 2022

As tourists rush to Greenland to indulge in its magnificent icebergs and natural beauty, tourism authorities are considering ways to bring this visitor rush under control in order to guard the fragile environment, that’s threatened by global warming and its predicaments.

An experienced person off-the-beaten-track French tourist who is currently in his 60s, Yves Gleyze, said that it’s a dream destination, as he arrived at the airport in Ilulissa.

Visitors coming to the third-biggest town in the Danish autonomous territory are greeted by its rocky, severe countryside of grey rock and sparse vegetation.

However, gripping views of huge icebergs comes into one’s view just after a short drive.

Getting separated from the Ilulissat glacier in the adjacent fjord, the grand blocks of ice float gradually by in Disko Bay, whales making an appearance, infrequently.

Back in 2021, the postcard of this place attracted 50,000 tourists. This was more than 10 times the population of the town. Over half make only a temporary stop during an Arctic cruise.

With the opening of an international airport, these numbers are expected to swell up in the coming two years, a welcome boost up to the revenues of the island but also a dispute, keeping in mind the fragile, and melting, ecosystem.

The Arctic in the last 40 years has got hotter almost four times faster than the rest of the planet, as per a recent scientific study.

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