The Icelandic Tourist Board has hinted that it expects to see a rise in tourism to Iceland as of May, two months earlier than previously predicted, despite COVID-19 restrictions.
Talking with Morgunblaðið, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, the Managing Director of the Icelandic Tourist Board, stated that there’s more optimism for welcoming tourists now than they expected a few months ago.
“There are many indications that we may start to see the country rise now in May and June, and it goes without saying that if the tourism industry takes off one to two months earlier than previously expected, then it is crucial,” explained Skúlason.
Skúlason noted that these will mostly be vaccinated tourists coming from the U.S., with vaccinated visitors from the U.K. also coming in strong. Skúlason followed up by mentioning that the decision to allow vaccinated people from outside Schengen is crucial to the tourism industry, as well as the government’s future plans for quarantine.
As it stands, Skúlason states the importance that they will now hit the Central Bank’s and the Ministry of Finance’s forecast of 700,000 tourists in Iceland for 2021.