Iceland tourism will take 3-4 years to recover

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Though the vaccine for COVID-19 has raised high hopes for tourism, along with other sectors, the CEO of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, has highlighted that “it will likely take three to four years to regain the balance” that Icelandic Tourism has had.

According to him, this December would be pretty slow compared to 2019 as he considers that 2021 will be better, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“I think the Christmas and New Years’ Market is completely out for now. It’s mostly people on short trips, 3-5 days, something that’s now impossible,” he pointed out.

For summer 2021, the CEO of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association has highlighted the fact that many factors should have been considered while talking about next summer, like Schengen border reopening before the summer 2021.

“I’ve been looking at the projections, our own, the ones in Icelandair’s renaissance plan, and the ones made by the Central Bank of Iceland, which supposes that 750,000-950,000 tourists might come to Iceland in 2021,” he stressed.

However, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason has explained that the present situation has compelled persons to internet search for more travel options.

He highlighted that these days able to afford abroad travelling is more important than the question of being permitted. He also mentioned that the economic effects of the pandemic would impact many people, who due to their job loss are not being able to travel.

In November, Iceland authorities have announced that they would extend the introduced border measures, imposed to curb the spread of the pandemic further. According to the announcement, Iceland will keep in place its border measures until February 1, 2021.

« Back to Page

• Iceland Leads Europe in Career Opportunities for Women, Study Shows

• Iceland’s new tourism promotion video mocks Mark Zuckerberg