Skift Take
While some European destinations suffered last year from travelers' fear of terrorism, Iceland and other countries in Northern and Eastern Europe benefited from the short-term, decreased interest in Western Europe — and more favorable exchange rates.
Iceland, a small country nearly 1,000 miles from Continental Europe, was a clear winner in European tourism last year as airline capacity to the country grew and many travelers chose alternative European destinations versus traditional tourism strongholds such as Paris and Brussels.
Europe had 620 million international tourist arrivals in 2016, a two percent increase over 2015, and that represents the seventh consecutive year of tourism growth for the continent.
Some 28 out of the 32 European destinations part of a recent report by the European Travel Commission and Tourism Economics reported tourism growth in 2016.
Iceland, for example, had three times more foreign visitors last year (more than one million) than its own population. Iceland's international arrivals were up 40 percent year-over-year, the steepest foreign tourism growth for any European country.
Important long-haul markets such as the U.S., China, and Japan grew for many Northern and Eastern European destinations while Western European countries had weak or negative growth from these and other markets.
Last year, Skift launched a deep dive on overtourism in Iceland that details the tourism challenges and opportunities for the country. "The continued strength of the U.S. dollar is supporting transatlantic demand evidenced by the growth in arrivals from the U.S.," the report states. "However, there are some su
