Iceland is falling behind competing destinations after withdrawing from international tourism marketing, according to senior figures in the sector, who warn that the impact is now visible in booking data.
Icelandstofa has raised concerns that rival countries have strengthened their branding efforts at the same time as Iceland has stepped back from the market. The government must now decide whether renewed investment in destination marketing is justified.
As reported by RÚV, Pétur Þ. Óskarsson, managing director of the Icelandic Tourism Board, said on national television that recent booking trends were worrying, particularly outside the peak summer season.
“We see a decline in the first three months of the year and then we see a decline now in October and November and in November it was 13%. Including, from our two most important markets, it was 16% from the United States and over 30% from the United Kingdom,” he said.
Visibility Slips Abroad 
Tourists at Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon. Photo: Golli
Pétur noted that Iceland benefited from continuous consumer-focused marketing between 2010 and 2022, a period during which tourism grew steadily.
Since then, he said, the country has effectively withdrawn from general image-building campaigns, even as neighbouring destinations have expanded promotion, including for winter experiences such as northern lights tours.
While tourism companies have continued to market Iceland independently, Pétur argued that state-led branding plays a different role.
“That’s what marketing is – it’s an investment,” he said, pointing out that tourism generated ISK 620 billion in export revenue last year.