Who are the 142,000 ‘others’?

The nationality of some 142,000 tourists visiting Iceland last year is unknown, according to an article on the Icelandic tourism and travel website turisti.is.

Statistics kept

All passengers entering the security-check area at Keflavík International Airport (KEF) are required to show their passports. Officials register the nationality of each passing traveller and the aggregate data are sent to the Icelandic Tourist Board, which keeps information on the numbers of tourists leaving Iceland each month and their nationality.

Just 17 specific nationalities

The classification system used, however, allows for only seventeen specific nationalities, all other travellers being classed as ‘Other’. These seventeen nationalities include just two Asian countries and none at all from South America, Africa or Australasia. European countries such as Belgium and Austria are missing and Poland and Russia are the only two Eastern European countries specifically available.

Of a total of 969,000 foreign visitors checking in for a flight out of Iceland last year, some 142,000 fell into the ‘Other’ category.

Passengers flying out of KEF have their nationality registered in the security-check area. Photo: Hjörtur

Know your customer

Both the Icelandic Tourist Board and the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF) have asked for something to be done to improve the accuracy of nationality counts. Isavia, the airport authority which operates KEF, is however concerned that the arrangements needed for better statistical data may increase security-check waiting times.

“It is crucially important for those working in the tourism industry to know their customers as accurately as possible,” explains Skapti Örn Ólafsson, Communication Officer at SAF. “It is quite natural to ask Keflavík Airport to conduct more accurate nationality counts.”

The original Turisti.is article (in Icelandic) can be found here.