1.35 million tourists this year

Tourism is to thank for around a third of economic growth and 45% of all new jobs created since 2010. Tourist numbers in Iceland are predicted to increase by 23% year-on-year.

These are just some of the findings of a new report on tourism by Íslandsbanki. The general thrust of the document is that tourism has played a big part in efforts over recent years to revive the Icelandic economy.

Tourism lowering unemployment

Since 2010, some 10,300 jobs have been created, of which 4,600 are in the aviation industry, travel agencies, accommodation and catering. These figures lead the study to conclude that tourism has generated 45% of all new jobs in the period. This precentage is probably a conservative estimate given the countless other sectors linked to the tourism sector. It is therefore safe to say that tourism has been a major contributor to falling unemployement figures in Iceland.

The Íslandsbanki report also forecasts that tourism will bring in ISK 342 billion (approx. €2.3 billion) in foreign-currency revenue in 2015, some 28.9% of total foreign-currency revenue from exports of good and services.

Íslandsbanki published its report on tourism today. Photo: Ó​mar Óskars­son

Four tourists to every local

Keflavik airport is predicted to see the arrival of just under 1.2 million tourists in 2015, up 23% on last year. Total tourists numbers are expected to reach 1.35 million, i.e. more than four times the population of Iceland. Few countries in the world register such high tourist-population ratios.