300,000 more US visitors could generate 83 billion kronur
Saturday 17th October 2026 on 18:15 in
Iceland
An increase in US visitors to Iceland from 700,000 to one million a year could generate 83.1 billion kronur in foreign currency earnings for the tourism sector, mbl.is reported. The estimate includes revenue from air tickets and visitors’ spending in Iceland.
Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, managing director of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association, based the calculation on average foreign-currency earnings of 277,000 kronur per international visitor. He said the increase could also have indirect effects on the economy, including on the value of the krona.
Skúlason estimated that tax revenues for central and local government could reach 25 billion kronur a year, equivalent to about 30% of the projected foreign-currency earnings.
The estimate follows comments by US Ambassador to Iceland Billy Long that the number of American visitors could rise to one million annually. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to Long’s remarks during a visit to Iceland last week. Promote Iceland plans to form a task force to follow up on the proposal, its managing director Pétur Þ. Óskarsson told Morgunblaðið.
US visitors spend more on average in Iceland than tourists from other countries. However, Skúlason said it was not certain that average earnings per visitor would remain at the same level if the number of Americans increased by 300,000 a year, a rise of more than 40% in that group.
He said such growth could strengthen Icelandair’s transatlantic network and encourage investment and expansion across the tourism sector. Businesses and public services would need to be able to handle the increase, particularly if it came quickly. Skúlason said he would like to see more visitors travel outside the peak season and be spread across the country.
The tourism industry was reasonably well placed to accommodate growth, he said, but experience from the 2012 to 2018 expansion suggested that a gradual increase would be preferable. An additional 50,000 to 100,000 US visitors a year over the next four to five years would be manageable, he said.