Eclipse draws 125,000 visitors to Iceland

Iceland received about 125,000 visitors in recent days to see the total solar eclipse, according to mbl.is. Tourism director Arnar Már Ólafsson said preparations had paid off and that the event had gone better than expected.

“I think everyone involved is extremely satisfied with how it turned out,” Ólafsson told mbl.is.

Of the visitors, about 75,000 arrived by air and 50,000 by ship. Ólafsson said there had been considerable pressure at Keflavík Airport as eclipse visitors began leaving Iceland. A security queue extended outside the terminal on Thursday, and waiting times were also long on Friday, although he said the situation would ease quickly.

He said the only factor that could have improved the event was the weather, as it would have been better if everyone had been able to see the sun.

Ólafsson said he could not remember another single event that had attracted so many visitors to Iceland.