The capital city of Greenland, Nuuk, is set to open a new international airport in November. It will accommodate jet planes making direct trans-Atlantic flights a reality for the first time in the country’s history.
Previously, its international runways have not been long enough to handle large flights, instead routing travellers through Kangerlussuaq, a former US military base, and shuttling them on a smaller plane to onward destinations.
The only other way to get to Greenland is by cruise ship, which is time consuming and expensive. It’s a landmark turning point in Greenlandic tourism as the country gets itself ready to welcome an increasing number of visitors.
According to Aviation Week, the cost of the new Nuuk airport is five billion Danish kroner (£565 million). The project involves replacing the existing airport, expanding cargo facilities and ground handling as well as extending the runway from 900 metres to 2,200 metres.
Another international landing strip is also set to open in the northern tourist capital of Ilulissat in 2025.
The new infrastructure means that in addition to more tourists being able to fly directly to the capital, more goods can be imported and larger quantities of its export products, including seafood, can be exported in the hopes of leading an economic boost for the whole country. It will also provide jobs and stability for the future.
Last year, Greenland experienced its hottest year of cruise travel on record. Around 76,500 people arrived, a 74 percent increase from 2022. However, even when including air passengers, the whole country still received only 130,000 visitors last year according to the country’s tourism board.
At the moment, the country’s 57,000-strong population mostly relies on fishing to uphold their economy.
By comparison, Iceland is expected to receive over two million tourists in 2024. By allowing bigger planes and making travel easier, it is hoped that more people will be inclined to visit.
However, Greenland has said it does not want to become the next Iceland. Stine Selmer, a sustainability consultant at Selmer Travel who runs adventure trips around Greenland, said: “As an industry, we’ve long been working to attract the right tourists because Greenland is a unique destination, with infrastructure, culture, and capacity limits”.
He added that mass tourism “would cannibalise our product.” Greenland is focused on two main forms of tourism, the first being adventure tourism including rock climbing in the east of the country to whale watching and camping on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
The second form is year-round tourism, including an emphasis on dark sky tourism with star-gazing and northern lights-watching in particular.
To attract year-round tourists despite the fact that temperatures can dip below -50C in the peak of winter, the country has opened sky view cabins and igloos for aurora-focused experiences.
Tanny Por, head of international relations at Visit Greenland, emphasised that it is not a question of quantity over quality, noting that the country’s goal is that 80 percent of the population sees tourism as something that offers a positive contribution to society.
“Airports cost a lot, so we do have to encourage a lot of tourists to come,” she said, “but we will be doing this in a balanced way, so as not to overrun local people.”
How many flights there will be, how many passengers they will bring and where they will come from is yet to be determined.
