Only a decade ago, Iceland was not a popular tourist destination until Icelandair, a low cost airline, introduced direct flights to the US. Now, Iceland suffers from overtourism.
Rather than discouraging visitors, however, Iceland is looking to diversify its tourism offering. Recognizing the strain being placed on Reykjavik and a small number of other sites, they have tried to promote areas further afield to ease the pressure on the ‘Golden Circle’.
The country’s Tourist Site Protection Fund, which funnels tax funds to protect natural heritage, has been hailed as a success, although charges to enter national parks are now being considered.
In a more drastic move, officials looking after canyon of Fjaðrárgljúfur recently announced the beauty spot would be shut for all but five weeks of the year, after it was used in a Justin Bieber music video. Damage caused by a surge in visitors was blamed for the move.
(Source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/how-to-stop-overtourism/index.html)
For me too, a direct flight Reykjavik – Denver was a convenient and cheap way to get home after 2.5 months in Europe. My relaxing time by the Black Sea in Byala was over and I flew from Burgas, Bulgaria to Iceland intending to spend 3 days there.
The transfer from the airport was easy as pie. If you buy a FlyBus Plus ticket the bus takes you directly to your hotel like a taxi.
Iceland is close to the Arctic Circle, the sun barely sets there during the summer months. It was around midnight when I got to the hotel from the airport but I did not need to turn on the lights in my room.
As other tourists, I booked a Golden Circle day tour. Mine was with Nice Travel. Our guide, Christina was from Greece. She lived and worked all over world in places like Egypt, Indonesia and so on. Christina has been in Iceland for 4 years. Her contract would expire in 6 months and she was thinking of the next country to move to. I asked Christina how her Icelandic was. The language seems impossibly difficult to learn; every word is a mile long. She laughed and said that she learned the basic Icelandic.
I expected to find the country beautiful and it was. We were in the land of elves and trolls. Christina pointed at three grassy mounds by the roadside. They were elves’ homes and the road was built to go around them. The government of Iceland respects the elves’ rights and protects their land.
Christina told us that once her friend was looking to buy an apartment. She went with her friend to inspect it. The view from the balcony was gorgeous. The real estate agent assured them that nothing would be built between the house and the sea because this land was populated with elves. It was not a joke. The agent showed them a letter from the government to confirm that.
