From Iceland — Number Of Tourists To Iceland Surpasses 2 Million In 2017

Number Of Tourists To Iceland Surpasses 2 Million In 2017

Published January 16, 2018

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Art Bicnick

Yet another record was broken last year, as the number of tourists to Iceland in 2017 was more than six times the total population.

According to the latest data from the Icelandic Tourist Board, a total of 2,195,271 tourists visited Iceland in 2017. This is up from 1,767,726 the year previous.

Bearing in mind that the total population of Iceland is 334,252, the total number of visitors to the country last year was more than six times the number of people living here.

The largest share of these tourists, or 576,403, hailed from the United States, and in fact Americans comprised the greatest increase of tourists to Iceland between the past two years. These tourists were followed by Brits, Germans, Canadians and French visitors.

Interestingly, the number of tourists during the winter months has been increasing over the past six years, while summer visitors have been gradually declining over the same period of time, although summer is still the most popular time for visits. Spring remains the least popular season for tourism.

Tourism has been increasingly dramatically in Iceland in recent years. In 2010, Iceland saw less than half a million tourists that year, but it has been steadily increasing since then.

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