Skift Forum Europe Preview: How Tourism Transformed Iceland's Economy

Some 40,000 tourists are in Iceland on any given day exploring the attractions and landscapes that have increasingly attracted movie stars and tourists alike during the past decade. Many countries would consider 40,000 daily visitors insignificant. But since Iceland's population is only 338,000 and more than a million tourists visit each year, tourists are taking up more space and resources, spurring tourism officials are to get ahead of the imbalance. Hiring more workers for Iceland's travel industry is part of the country's plan to manage tourism growth. Nearly 8 percent of the population current works in the travel industry. "In 2012, we had around 11,000 people working in tourism, today we have 26,000 people working in the industry," said Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir, director of Visit Iceland & Creative Industries at Promote Iceland. "Of course, this also has its challenges." Pálsdóttir said Visit Iceland has had found that explaining serious tourism concepts in humorous ways to tourists has worked well. "We’ve been very authentic in our marketing," said Pálsdóttir. "In reality, what’s really been pushing the tourism industry forward in Iceland is the public-private partnership and where we’re heading." At the upcoming Skift Forum Europe in Berlin on April 26, Pálsdóttir will discuss challenges facing European tourism and how tourism has quickly become the backbone of Icel