It is estimated that foreign guests alone put about a billion ISK into the Icelandic economy during the Iceland Airwaves music festival, and there are still other data points that have not been factored in.
Airwaves has been enjoying increased success with each passing year. The Export Office of Icelandic Music (ÚTÓN) conducted a poll for foreign guests, asking them how much money they spent and where.
The number of foreign guests to Airwaves increased by 66% from last year, the data showed, from about 2,800 to 4,076. This actually marks the first time that foreign guests outnumbered Icelanders at Airwaves.
These guests spent a total of about 300 million ISK coming to Iceland, and another 800 million ISK in the capital area alone. Each guest spent about 29,000 ISK per day and stayed an average of 6.7 nights in Iceland.
In addition, the amount of money these guests spent outside the capital area has not even been factored in yet – about 70% said that they intended to go to at least the Blue Lagoon.
Tómas Young of ÚTÓN told Vísir that he was very pleased with the results, saying that foreign guests to Airwaves had a positive effect on many aspects of the economy, from cafés to bars to record stores.
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