Looking up numbers from Statistics Iceland and examining them is actually quite fun as they reveal so much. The oldest records of tourists visiting Iceland by nationality are seventy-seven years old, from 1947, just three years after the country became an independent nation. That year, 4,389 tourists visited the country, many likely for business purposes. The Danes were the most numerous, with 1,706 visitors, followed by Americans, with 1,496. Together, these two nationalities made up nearly 70% of the foreign visitors. Norwegians were in third place with 399 visitors, the British came fourth with 391, and Swedes in fifth, with 166 individuals from the kingdom arriving here 77 years ago. Last year, just over 2.2 million tourists came to Iceland, including 631,000 from the United States, nearly a third of the total number. The British were next with nearly 300,000 visitors, while Germans, who ranked third, totalled 135,000. These three nationalities accounted for nearly half (46%) of the tourists who visited Iceland last year (2023).
Iceland 30/10/2024
Camera: A7R IV-FE 1.8/235mm GM, FE 1.2/50mm GM, FE 2.8/100mm GM, FE 1.8/20mm G
Images & Text: Páll Stefánsson
