A tourist service in Iceland which caters specifically to the world’s LGBT community has already seen a significant spike in traffic in just its first couple weeks
The office, called Pink Iceland, is the brainchild of Eva María Þórarinsdóttir Lange and Birna Hrönn Björnsdóttir. The Grapevine contacted Eva María, who has been inundated with calls not just from local media, but from clients as well.
“Me and my girlfriend have been helping out gay tourists for about five or six years,” she told us, “Showing people around, making recommendations and such. The last couple years had been a lot of work, so we just decided to make a business out of it. There was a need there, and we wanted to fulfill it.”
Although the site has only been up for about two weeks, “there have been a lot of responses, a lot of inquiries coming in very fast,” she says.
Pink Iceland’s services range from “booking short tours around Reykjavík to all-inclusive luxury excursions around the country,” as their website describes, but many gay couples have also inquired about getting married. Iceland’s marriage laws apply equally to both gay and straight couples alike, and Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir’s marriage to her long-time partner brought global attention to this fact.
“Even though we’ve just started, so it’s impossible to say in exact numbers, we have received a lot of inquiries from couples wanting to come here to get married,” Eva María confirmed. “I think Iceland is a good destination for gay tourists.”
The Pink Iceland website also features their recommendations on gay-friendly clubs, shops and services, so whether you’re newly arrived or thinking of visiting, the Grapevine recommends giving them a look.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
