Here's a long, wonderful, ranty take-down of a recent New York Times Iceland feature.
What is not to love?!
Ever since Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, almost every adult Icelander has been complicit in the so-called grand conspiracy of mass tourism. And by conspiracy, I mean the enjoyment of great benefits: year-round jobs, money in local coffers, cafés open past dusk in towns that once shut for winter, mortgages paid, etc.
Call it a conspiracy if you like; most of us call it a deal.
Contrary to common opinion, Icelanders are quite commonly positive to tourism. (Duh! don't bite the hand that feeds you, and honestly our lands are precious and glorious so it's very understandable that others want to show up and behold them too.)
Remember, Iceland’s GDP shrank nearly 7 percent in 2009. By 2016 tourism had surpassed fishing and aluminium as our top foreign-currency earner. Unemployment fell from 9 percent in 2009 to 3 percent by 2017, largely thanks to an influx of curious visitors and the glorious ripple effect they created. The idea that we, as a collective nation, would look to spurn one of our few global exports is pure fantasy.
This is the best: fuck people and their stupid "lived experiences":
I can sympathise with the New York Times’ interviewees, so I do not mean to attack “their truth” …as morons like to say.
Online forums do surface real gripes: housing shortages, sewage strain, litter. But they are not proof of a national revolt. Step away from the feeds and the view on the ground is simpler: most Icelanders are happy you came, and most want you to come again.
"Past visitors love the place, and who can blame them? The nature, the people, the culture, the clean water, the fresh air"
Plenty of tourist-y infrastructure to fix... but then fix that!
In other words, be grateful for the deal, but make it run better
I often say Iceland is a layer — like an onion!! — in that we give the first or second layer to tourists, the third to those more hardcore adventurers... And the rest of the 10,000 hidden gems left to our own benefit. What a glory!
PURE BEAUTY
to potential visitors (and particularly those who still read legacy media) I say this with open arms and not a shred of insincerity. Arrive upon our black sand shores secure in the knowledge that you are as welcome here as anyone else. Witness our Northern Lights, our ethereal glacier lagoons, and know that no-one—be they Icelanders, Redditors, or journalists—has the authority to deny you such incredible experiences. This island was meant to be shared. Wonder needs no permission.