Many Tourists Expected For Christmas And New Year’s

As the year draws to a close, the tourism industry in Iceland is expecting a great many visitors to the country for the holidays.

Vísir reports that many tourists will be visiting Iceland this year for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Many hotels are full, and tour guides say hundreds of tourists have booked activities for the holiday season.

Hildur Ómarsdóttir, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Icelandair Hotels, confirmed for reporters that Hilton Nordica, Reykjavík Marina and Reykjavík Natura are all fully booked for New Year’s, with a great many also reserved for Christmas. The three hotels have a total of 640 rooms. While she said that these tourists come from all over the world, Americans in particular have been coming to Iceland in increasing numbers.

Einar Bárðarson, the Operation Manager of Reykjavík Excursions, said that hundreds of tourists have booked tours with his company over the holidays.

“There is slightly less service on Christmas Eve, as we have no trips on that evening, but for other days it’s business as usual,” he said. “You would think things would be a little calmer in the week before Christmas, but there’s just a constant stream of people.”

If you are planning on coming to Iceland for Christmas and New Year’s, it may be helpful to know that different places are open on different days (and during different hours) over the holidays. Fortunately, you can check our handy Opening Hours calendar to see at a glance what’s in store for the season.