The AFP reports that tourism is on the increase in Iceland, mostly due to the weakening crown.
The article cites Icelandic Tourist Board figures, which show that the number of tourists from Canada rose 68% from 2007, in many ways due to the Icelandic crown having lost 44% of its value last fall.
“Last year you got 60 kronur for one dollar, today you get 105 kronur,” Canadian student Will Delaney told the AFP. “I’m staying two weeks. I’m both working and travelling.”
The article cites mostly anecdotal evidence for another claim in the article; that the tourist industry has been doing exceptionall well in a country with rising unemployment. However, Tourist Board director Olöf Yrr Atladóttir pointed out that there have been no mass lay-offs within the tourist industry, and she predicted there would be a signifcant rise in visitors this summer, when tourism typically sees its greatest numbers.