As recent numbers show that Iceland welcomed 1.792 million international visitors in the first nine months of 2025, the government might soon propose an increase tourist tax. The extra income is set to be used to further develop sustainable tourism in the country.
Iceland has been on the tourism radar for quite a while now. The country is especially renowned for its unspoiled nature, geothermal activity, and breathtaking Northern lights. Both during summer and winter, international visitors flock to the island nation in order to be able to strike the destination from their travel bucket list.
According to Statistics Iceland, 1.792 million international visitors have visited the country between January and September 2025. An increase compared to 2024, which saw 1.743 million visitors, and an even bigger boom compared to 2019, with 1.597 million visitors. While recent events such as the closure of budget airline Play and the eruption at the Sundhnúksgígar fissure might have negatively impacted the decision of some potential tourists, many have not let those events change their plans.
How to prepare for the future?
According to Jóhann Viðar Ívarsson, an analyst at the Ferðamálastofa Icelandic Tourist Board, Iceland’s positive tourist numbers are partly due to the boom of cross-border tourism on an international scale. However, the country’s nature and rural landscapes offer something extra, according to the analyst, as does the fact that influencers have played an important role in making Iceland a fashionable destination amongst wealthier tourists.
The increase in tourist numbers does, however, also ask for some changes, especially as far as the nation’s infrastructure is concerned. Iceland’s KEF international airport is currently undergoing an expansion, allowing the hub to be better connected to the country’s overall transport network and facilitating the internal flow for travellers. The addition of a new 4-star hotel close to the airport will make travelling to and from it easier and more comfortable than ever before.
Since 1 January 2024, Iceland has reintroduced a tourist tax, allowing the country to reduce the environmental impact of the tourism boom and to partially fund the needed infrastructure adaptations. That fee amounts to ISK 600 (€4.23) for hotels and guesthouses and to half of that for campsites and mobile homes. Cruise passengers calling at Icelandic ports are charged ISK 1,000 (€7.04).
In an interview with EuroNews, Jóhann Viðar Ívarsson states that the Icelandic government is planning to introduce a considerably higher tourist tax in order to increase that revenu stream, allowing to better prepare Iceland for a sustainable tourism future. It is yet unclear however what the amount of the new tourist tax will be.
