Some of Iceland’s most popular sites for tourists could soon require an entrance fee, as traffic to and from these areas is beginning to take its toll.
Eyjan reports that some 600,000 tourists are expected to come to Iceland this year, continuing a trend where the record for the number of tourists visiting Iceland in a single year is broken repeatedly.
Páll Asgeir Ásgeirsson, the chairman of the Iceland Touring Association, told radio station Rás 2 that he believes the time has come to place surcharges or entrance fees on some of Iceland’s more popular settings of natural beauty. This could include such places as Þingvellir, Landmannalaugar, and Vatnajökull.
Páll said that many tourists have in fact expressed surprise that access to many of these places is free of charge, as similar sites in other countries almost always charge for access. The tourist industry has been reluctant to institute such charges, although the recent addition of pay toilets to Þingvellir has caused a minor stir of sorts.
Any formal decisions as to what sites will begin charging entrance fees, and for how much, have not yet been taken.
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