8 Questions for Iceland on Its Bold Plan to Reopen by June 15
Skift Take
Iceland says it is ready to accommodate growing travel interest it has been tracking on social media and on search engines the last few weeks. It's counting on its wide-open spaces to help visitors feel at ease. The world has its eyes on this reopening.
Iceland's Prime Minister KatrÍn Jakobsdóttir announced this week that the country would begin allowing tourists to enter as soon as June 15. Free Covid-19 tests will be provided upon entry.
Skift was curious about the practicalities of this and how visitors will be made to feel safe and welcomed. We reached to the tourism board with some questions. Here is an edited version of our conversation with Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, head of Visit Iceland.
Skift: Iceland is I believe one of the first nations to come up with an organized plan to reopen tourism to the world since the pandemic. How did the government decide it was ready to do that?
Guðmundsdóttir: Iceland enacted a policy of high testing volumes and contact tracing to minimize the spread of the virus, accompanied by extensive self-quarantine measures. It was one of the very few countries that started testing in January before a single case was found, and a science-led proactive response has allowed the country
