Press

Tourism was instrumental in digging the 340,000-person nation out of its deep hole. Now, the industry is cooling fast and problems are mounting for its airlines after years of rapid expansion. Arion Bank, in a report called “Tourism in Iceland: Soft landing or a belly flop,” warned the nation could face falling numbers of visitors next year after a boom that saw arrivals more than quadruple over the past decade. Tourism is the largest “export” and accounts for 12 percent of gross domestic product and about 20 percent of business investments, according to Arion. The number of people visiting Iceland rose nearly 40 percent in 2016 but only 24 percent in 2017. This year’s annual increase is expected to be 15 percent, according to airport operator ISAVIA. - Bloomberg.com -