Cruise Ships To Focus On Northern Lights

About 100,000 tourists are expected to arrive by cruise ships this summer, and some of them are expected to focus on the Northern Lights.

Vísir reports that these numbers are similar to last summer. Björn Einarsson, the managing director of TVG-Zimsen, a company which works closely with cruise ships, says there are some changes to come.

Two ships, for example, the Marco Polo and the Discovery, aim to come to Iceland next March, with the goal to provide a Northern Lights display far from the well-lit shores. Another cruise ship, Disney Magic, will be visiting, marking the first time a Disney cruise ship has visited Iceland. TVG-Zimsen will themselves be bringing a Japanese cruise ship, Asuka II, later on this May.

“Cruise ships are a very important part of a rapidly growing tourism sector, which was Iceland’s largest export product in 2013,” Björn said. Revenue from cruise ships alone brought in some 275 billion ISK last year.