Nuuk’s new international airport opens Nov 28, 2024 and it will be a game changer for Greenland‘s tourism, with two more openings, in Ilulissat and Qaqortoq in South Greenland, scheduled before the end of 2026. The capital city is getting an international airport that will accommodate jet planes, making direct trans-Atlantic flights to and from Greenland possible for the first time ever. The new airports will allow reaching most parts of the country within 1.5 hours: while they will be initially operated by existing air carriers Air Greenland and Icelandair, they will also allow for opportunities for new airlines and more flights to Greenland. The impact on the country still remains to be seen but the new flight schedule and air routes will inevitably alter the way of traveling to and around Greenland, reducing costs and logistics. Currently, there are only two ways to get to Greenland: by cruise ship, or by air via Reykjavík or Copenhagen, both of which are time-consuming and expensive. In Greenland, there’s just Kangerlussuaq, a former US military base, with an airport big enough to accommodate flights from Denmark: it means residents and travelers have to connect there before being shuttled on smaller planes to their final destinations elsewhere in the country.
In 2023, Greenland received only about 130,000 visitors , according to the country’s tourism board: by comparison, Iceland is expected to receive over 2 million tourists this year. Allowing bigger planes into Nuuk will make it easier for people to visit, which could dramatically increase the number of tourists. Right now, Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants rely mostly on fishing to uphold their economy: as the government wants to diversify, tourism is a great solution, but Greenland doesn’t want to be the next Iceland, it simply isn’t possible to support mass tourism there. The country would rather attract adventure travelers like people coming to hike, go on wildlife tours, or focus on other nature or cultural experiences. Improving connectivity will also make life easier for locals, as most towns aren’t connected by roads, and flying is essential: it should be a welcome change. The new infrastructure will also mean that more goods can come in and larger quantities of export products, including seafood, can go out, hopefully leading to an economic boost for the whole country. The tourism board hopes to manage growth by working with tour operators, by creating new package trips that make it easier for travelers to spread their time across multiple destinations, rather than concentrating all visitors in the same place, focusing more on regenerative tourism.
Read more on Visitgreenland.com, Adventure.com and BBC.com
