Number of international visitors to Iceland decreasing for the first time since 2010

New figures from the Icelandic Tourist Board show that the greatest decline is among British and US visitors.

Travellers at Námaskard in Iceland. Credit: Iceland.is

The number of international visitors to Iceland decreased in April for the first time since 2010. According to figures provided by the Icelandic Tourist Board, the number of international passengers departing from Keflavík International Airport in April dropped by 4% from the same period in the previous year. However, seeing as foreign nationalities residing in Iceland are generally registered as international visitors, the decline could easily be greater than 4 per cent.

Last April, Iceland received 147,551 international visitors; that is 6,000 fewer visitors than in April 2017. Earlier this month, Icelandair announced that demand for air travel to Iceland has dropped, so the tourist board’s figures are in accordance to the airline’s passenger numbers.

The tourist board’s numbers show that the greatest decline is among British and US visitors; the number of British visitors decreased by 4,976, dropping from 27,817 to 22,841; the number of US visitors reduced by 4,114, dropping from 40,388 to 36,274. The only nationalities that showed an increase were those from Russia, Spain, Poland, and Italy.