Remote country opens to American visitors with new flight amid overtourism crisis: ‘The herd is coming’
Nuuk Nuuk.
Who’s there?
Americans — and a lot of them.
The capital city of Greenland, a frigid Nordic lump situated between Atlantic Canada and Iceland, is projected to become the next travel hot spot as a new airport and hotels gear up to welcome travelers looking for an alternative to packed European favorites that have soured on tourism.
United Airlines has launched seasonal nonstop flights from Newark to the teensy waterfront enclave. Nuuk is on the west side of Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark that’s known for arctic adventuring.
“It’s the rumbling before the herd is coming,” Mads Mitchell, general manager of Nuuk’s 67-room Hotel Nordbo, told the Wall Street Journal, adding that ownership is already looking into expanding.
And while it’s certainly good for business, Mitchell expressed uneasiness over the tourist floodgates opening, which will inevitably disrupt local lives.
“It’s finding this balance of, like, showing the love for Greenland and showing the amazing possibilities, but not getting too much too fast,” Mitchell said.
De facto ambassadors like Mitchell may not have a choice, though.
The volume of air travel heading to the eponym of Gerard Butler’s 2020 disaster flick will almost double by next year, according to Jens Lauridsen. The CEO of Greenland Airports expects flights with a combined 105,000 seats to come to Nuuk, while 55,000 touched down in tourist season this year.
On top of that, a new $700 million investment will bring even more air capacity to the region.
Each inbound plane can generate $200,000 in revenue — something Lauridsen called a “very significant economic impact.”
“We look for new destinations, we look for hot destinations and destinations, most importantly, we can make money in,” Andrew Nocella, the airline’s chief commercial officer, said in a recent earning call.
Ask world travelers like Aria Varasteh, a 34-year-old consulting firm founder based in Washington D.C., he’s ready to dip his toes in the icy water.
“I want a taste of something different,” he told WSJ.
This enthusiasm for exploration has led to a massive anti-tourist backlash around the world in recent years, with cities and countries discussing taxes and other ways to throttle the surge.
Fortunately for Greenland, there appear to be some significant protections in place, for the time being — like Nuuk only having about 550 available hotel rooms. Tourist agency Visit Greenland is already predicting a shortage arising as early as 2027.
“Of course, there are discussions about avoiding mass tourism. But right now, I think there is a natural limit in terms of the receiving capacity,” Air Greenland Group CEO Jacob Nitter Sørensen said.
