Greenland records Tourism surge after Trump attention

Greenland has recorded a significant surge in the number of tourists visiting the country after latest data showed a 14% increase in the number of passengers on international flights arriving in the country alongside a rise in hotel bookings.

The world’s largest Island located in the arctic ocean has been experiencing a surge in tourism as people flock to it. 

These new numbers are attributed to the opening of a new International airport in Nuuk in November last year which made accessing the Island easier. 

United Airlines UAL.O is set to begin direct flights from New York to Nuuk in June, replacing the previous route which required tourists to fly via Copenhagen and transit at the former U.S. military base Kangerlussuaq.

However some tour operators in the country also  attribute this  growth to US President Donald Trump thrusting the Arctic Island in the global spotlight when he threatened to annex it - a statement which has been vehemently rejected by the country’s government. 

"Already now, we are getting many more bookings than we have received earlier, especially because of a man with the last name of Trump. He has really put Greenland on the map once again," Ivik Knudsen-Ostermann, operator of Greenland Cruises, said, standing on the dock of an ice-packed harbour.

Knudssen-Ostermann, whose company runs boat tours to see Greenland's glittering blue icebergs, also says his bank has told him to expand ahead of an expected influx of tourists.

Ilulissat, Greenland's main tourist hub known for its UNESCO-listed ice fjord, is also due to open a new international airport in 2026, while another international airport is under construction in Qaqortoq in southern Greenland.

"We will see quite a significant growth this summer already," said Jens Lauridsen, CEO of Greenland Airports.

The country's vast ice sheet, glaciers, deep fjords and abundance of marine life, including whales, are the key attractions, while pride in the local Inuit culture is also growing.

Three-quarters of tourism operators reported an increase in bookings in the three months following the opening of Nuuk's new airport, according to Visit Greenland.

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