No, Iceland Is Not “Closed For The Summer”

Despite what you may have heard, there is still plenty of room in Iceland for visitors.

A recent article on MBL offered the contention of Nordic Travel managing director Sigurjón Þór Hafsteinsson that increasing numbers of tourists could outpace available accommodation as early as this summer. This has led to further speculations that potential tourists may find themselves having to cancel their flights for lack of a place to stay in Iceland.

However, the chairperson of the Icelandic Tourist Board, Ásbjörn Björgvinsson, told listeners of the Reykjavík siðdegis radio show that this was far from the case.

Ásbjörn said that there is still plenty of accommodation available all over Iceland, and even more spaces could be made available if certain legislative changes come to pass. Minister of Industry and Commerce Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir has proposed that individuals be allowed to rent out their personal properties for up to 90 days of the year without needing to apply for an accommodation license.

It is forecast that some 1.5 million tourists will visit Iceland this year, and the numbers of visitors to the country have been steadily rising. While it is reasonable to believe that these numbers will eventually plateau or even decline, Iceland is not reaching full capacity this summer.