Iceland and Canada Gather Wise Minds for Sustainable Arctic Tourism

In recent years, both Iceland and Canada have experienced a sharp increase in international tourism – and are also facing new tourist booms. This development is beneficial for the countries' economies but also burdensome for the environment and local communities, especially remote destinations.

With this as a backdrop, experts from both countries will gather on Wednesday, October 11th, to discuss the challenges of strong growth in tourism – and measures to make tourism more sustainable.

This will take place as a webinar which is open for registration. The organizers are the Embassy of Iceland in Ottawa and the Embassy of Canada in Reykjavik – in collaboration with Polar Knowledge Canada and the Arctic Cooperation Network in Akureyri.

In the panels are Icelandic and Canadian practitioners in the field, politicians, and civil servants.

Finally, some illustrative figures: In 2002, Iceland welcomed 280,000 tourists – and this year, a total of 2.2 million visitors are expected. Canada had a record 22 million foreign tourists staying overnight in 2019 – and estimates that this proportion will increase to 28 million by 2030.