Russian tourist flow to Iceland remains stable

As Iceland monitor portal reports, over the eight months of 2019, Iceland was visited by almost 1,4 million foreign tourists - 13% less than in the same period of the last year. The decline in tourist flow the authorities of the island state connect with the bankruptcy of the Icelandic carrier Wow Air in March this year.  Next year, the Icelandic tourism industry expects an increase in tourist flow by about 3% and another 5% in 2021, which in two years will allow to approach to the level of 2,2 million people a year. 

The problems for the growth of tourist flow from Russia are created by the high cost of trips to Iceland. For example, a group weekly tour costs € 2 600 per person, and this is without a flight and a visa. An air ticket with luggage on direct flight of S7 adds another € 450. According to experts, the presence of a direct flight is a big plus for the destination. S7 Airlines has started flights there last summer. 

Independent tourists increase the tourist flow to Iceland, and they, as a rule, choose accommodation at hostels.  Anna Filatovskaya, the director of the department of advertising and PR of the company Russian Express, says that it is impossible to talk about a large flow to this country from Russia. “Iceland is mostly individual destination. When the weekly direct flights from Moscow were launched, there were a little people wishing to visit this beautiful island, but in general we send less than a hundred people a year,” she said.