Iceland's Tourism Revolution

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Animation by Josh Sherrington
Sound by Graham Haerther (www.Haerther.net)
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster
Special thanks to Patreon supporters Adam Chelminski, Arkadiy Kulev, Charles Zilinski, Chris Allen, Connor J Smith, Daddy Donald, Etienne Dechamps, Eyal Matsliah, Hank Green, John & Becki Johnston, Kyle, MyNameIsKir, Plinio Correa, Qui Le, Remi_Scarlet, Tom Dooner, Tyler Hamm, and Vaughn Mudrick
Music by epidemicsound.com
Select footage courtesy the AP Archive
References:
[1] data.worldbank.org/indicator/...
[2] www.fastcompany.com/40414742/...
[3] www.isavia.is/en/corporate/ab... www.ferdamalastofa.is/static/...
[4] tradingeconomics.com/iceland/...
[5] data.worldbank.org/indicator/...
[6] data.worldbank.org/indicator/...
[7] www2.unwto.org/content/why-to...
[8] www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-s... www.thenational.ae/business/e...
[9] government.ae/en/information-... www.statista.com/statistics/6...
[10] www.thejakartapost.com/travel... www.alaraby.co.uk/english/ind... www.worldpoliticsreview.com/t...
[11] icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/po...
[12] www.ferdamalastofa.is/static/...
[13] www.travelweekly.co.uk/article... www.isavia.is/en/corporate/ab...
[14] www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...
[15] www.isavia.is/en/corporate/ab...
[16] www.isavia.is/media/1/12-2018...

[@TheAA1912]

Lazy Town was an Icelandic Show that aired in 2004. Around the same time, the Icelandic Economy skyrocketed. Coincidence? I think not.

[@EndymionClashofClans]

Is Lazy Town Icelandic? Wow I don't know that!

[@annakr.6380]

Endymion - Clash of Clans. Yes it is Icelandic.

[@bennikk]

It started before that. It was a theater play (i had it on VHS as a kid, around 1997)

[@Alex-se4tk]

Hotel? Trivago

[@mikeking9000]

Also around the Tim Icelandair announced their kefalik to innsbruck route

[@smallfoot5689]

"Iceland's Tourism Revolution" *puts on glasses* _basically planes_

[@on_spikes6867]

It's a bird! It's tourism! No, it's aviation!

[@joshuaosullivan2761]

Planes are better than boats for tourism, so it's a given that he'll put planes in.

[@imakevideos5377]

PEWDIPIE DID IT, he went two years in a row, now it has manny tourists

[@srouji6]

Iceland why do you Abort all your babies with down syndrome? Great to see Nazi Eugenics Programs still alive and well!

[@Joe--]

@@srouji6 So you would prevent a women's right to choose? You would force them to have a tougher life than they would choose?

[@coletakkish4389]

Iceland: “What doesn’t kill you makes you more economically viable”

[@kevinsantoso7430]

How people see Iceland: Me: "An island, a nation, vikings." Wendover: "It's planes of course!"

[@tracksectiondrawing3624]

😂😂😂

[@flyingman358]

People in Iceland...lot of fraud, financial criminals.

[@suckerforpain7373]

Africa: "Fish theives"

[@burikinodance]

It wasn't Scandinavian/Viking

[@teddyclones227]

No

[@door-to-doorhentaisalesman2978]

Topic: Iceland Wendover: Let's talk about Iceland Air.

[@luka3532]

to be fair though, since the economy is based on tourism, planes play a big role in supporting iceland's economy.

[@stovepipehat396]

Wow.

[@timhua6936]

I heard "air" and i was like *ahhhhhh that's hot*

[@frankytanuwijaya9109]

PrimalTheEmperor (primal9000) rude

[@thelastcube.]

@@timhua6936 well as someone living in the tropics... it is pretty hot tbh

[@plxton]

I got to 11 minutes before realising this was just another video about planes... I'm happy with that

[@emilebichelberger7590]

I’m 2:45 in and I had this suspicion

[@iammrbeat]

I see Iceland. I click.

[@tarunbasra8230]

What about land ice

[@grettirerba6326]

im from iceland

[@usefulpineapple4538]

I see Mr. Beat. I approve.

[@lordzooq8987]

@@usefulpineapple4538 I see hentai, I nut

[@faisal3398]

discount Mr. Beast

[@theyoshi202]

“Iceland lost the 2016 Euros” *Haha yeah but not before knocking out England*

[@mk.johann]

and tied against portugal lol

[@Sklb]

Dont think anybody laughed on iceland's performance on euro 2016.

[@pathisaviation3207]

i am the 100th person to like

[@nytrex_yt7417]

I’m English and this gives me past experiences

[@emilebichelberger7590]

We’ll start the Cod wars again! Even though we lost last time

[@kylekafka6636]

As a person who lived in Iceland for 3 years, I'll tell you the drop off is because Iceland is getting too expensive

[@leotheviking9796]

Word! Almost every week the prices go up. it´s insane

[@dieglhix]

@@leotheviking9796 Why not invade the southern islands then like the good ol times

[@jordancornelius7061]

Spent 3 weeks there in 2015 with a couple friends. We camped every night, lived like we were homeless, and ringed the country a couple times looking for hikes. Ended up paying ~2500CAD each. Gorgeous, but by no means affordable.

[@TheMasterhomaster]

That and it's so touristy now.

[@kjartannn]

Trust me amazon packages useally cost like 20x their worth because of customs and shipping

[@yusei1996]

Planes: *exist* Wendover: I'm about to talk about this man's whole career

[@nomadben]

Hahahahaha

[@noahbowie5985]

Why not?

[@educationcentral_]

your reward in life is equal in proportion to your contribution

[@Mickeysternum245]

that's why we love wendover tho

[@user-vn7ce5ig1z]

Wendover says he's going to talk about that man's career? 🤨 What man? What's Wendover going to say about that man's career? 😕 meme fail ¬_¬

[@uquuqunen2107]

I did my masters thesis about travel writers in Iceland during the 19th century. There was a growing interest from travelers already during 1760s. Geysirs, Hekla, Thingvalla and other main sights became tourists sights back then. From 1760s to 1820s there was a steady trickle of travelers and traveling pioneers after that there was a little bit of break until the trickle started again and in the 1860s the true saga tourism started in Iceland and the amount of travelers exploded from before. Of course other than travel writers there were a lot of other travelers. For example tourists, fishermen, naturalists, merchants, french military and so on. My thesis was about Ida Pfeiffer, Pliny Miles, Lord Dufferin and Sabine Baring-Gould who all traveled to Iceland between 1845-1863. If anybody is interested in further reading I suggest Andrew Wawns The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in Nineteenth-century Britain and Arnold Bartons Northern Arcadia: Foreign Travelers in Scandinavia, 1765-1815. I understand why in this video they say that Iceland was an afterthought fifty years ago, but I would like to make an argument that there was quite a bit of excitement over the island before that. Especially when it got linked to sagas and edda. During the 19th century travelers also liked to distance themselves from tourism by going to places like Iceland which weren't fit for a dandy tourist.

[@Ulfhrafninn]

#1 ON TRENDING in Iceland, Congratulations.

[@hrannarorarson732]

msergio0293 what

[@hrannarorarson732]

msergio0293 icelanders dont control youtube

[@msergio0293]

@@hrannarorarson732 so people overseas control What is trendind in youtube iceland?

[@Taurineg]

That’s like 2000 people lol

[@kjartannn]

in iceland everyone drops their shit when they find a video about their country

[@hjalticool]

god I love when foreigners attempt to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull

[@singsingsing22]

It was almost right. Just didn't get the last sound. It was his attempt at Keflavik that made my ears bleed.

[@tummassimonsen3212]

Tætt nokk

[@dieglhix]

I can

[@dieglhix]

Eyafjallajokutl

[@Admiral_Jezza]

I bet Iceland just names it's places like this to troll foreigners.

[@supremegeneral2424]

You say that Iceland lost EURO 2016 but you forgot to mention that they knocked out England and make Roy Hodgson resign. I still get flashbacks.....

[@LJMownage]

@nature giver It's still very impressive that a population of 300 thousand who can't play outdoors in winter due to ice beat a population of 60+ million. They also drew with Portugal, the team that eventually won.

[@Napoleonic_S]

Wendover still butthurt from that XD

[@Ushio01]

Who hasn't beaten England at football?

[@t.c.4321]

@nature giver no one cares about anime you fucking weeb shut up

[@sakar9688]

@@t.c.4321 bitch what

[@MQHNATYTC8262]

Iceland's Tourism Revolution *#49 ON TRENDING FOR GAMING* makes sense

[@oscardighton8580]

Dream I suppose Iceland made eve online

[@thestudentofficial5483]

Iceland: *on economic recession* Volcano: I'm gonna start this man's whole career

[@DistortedMatt]

Besides tourism, Iceland's renewable energy is a huge commodity and it is a bummer Wendover skipped right over it. Iceland runs almost completely on hydro and geothermal energy and is using it to entice manufacturers to move to Iceland and utilize the cheap energy for industries like aluminum smelting.

[@ArniVidar]

Our renewable energy is obviously a huge commodity, but in the grand scheme of things the financial gain to the country is overrated, and also dropping by the minute as the price of Aluminium has been in a free-fall for years now. We're also not using this energy to entice anyone here anymore, since our economy is simply far too expensive for most to consider starting a business here. Much simpler to start a business in a third-world country where wages are practically non-existent. :/

[@kuyaleinad4195]

Árni Viðar Björgvinsson I’ve read somewhere that Iceland and the UK are trying to capitalise on Iceland’s energy production by connecting it to the British Grid and in turn connect it to Europe which might give Iceland some extra income... But the distance is just too vast for this to be feasible in the near future.

[@cokeforever]

if you choke businesses with taxes, noone cares about the source of energy; it is 100% non viable moving an entertainment (service industry) business there

[@ovencake523]

instead of just energy, iceland could attract other renewable infrastructure projects. new residential districts could be built with minimal emissions and waste, utilizing that renewable energy. These kinds of residential districts would be more expensive to live in, so marketing it similar to how Tesla markets their cars might work and cause those higher-income icelanders to move in and an emissionless / green region would be sure to attract media attention and other supporters of green infrastructure. Not to mention the economic growth from building that infrastructure. Partnering with tech companies developing new green infrastructure would help too

[@thomas.02]

planes, economies, logistics and planes, are what makes this channel plane brilliant.

[@alephkasai9384]

You forgot about planes

[@Aditya7Cruise]

Haha yeah

[@StarBoyHalliMC]

4:30 Many have tried, few succeded. Eyjafjallajökull remains a challenge.

[@kekistanihelpdesk8508]

Tougher than Everest.

[@mateuszpapla]

It's easy: I-will-not-fucking-let-you-fly-kull. See?

[@kjartannn]

at last i have found the one icelander in the comments, that like most otherw, drops their shit when they see an entire video dedicated to their country

[@mountain_seeker1635]

I live in Delaware and we suffer from a very similar issue. Delaware was a very quiet, very isolated and very poor state for a long time. Then starting in the 80s, tourism started growing. Fast forward to the 2010s, hurricane Sandy hit and millions of people came from surrounding states. Now those people are choosing to stay here, prices skyrocketed, population boomed with retirees and all the jobs are service industries. Locals can barely afford to live while the retirees and expats that were tourists can easily afford everything here.

[@LatinaCreamQueen]

I'm only going to see the statue and memorial of Stefan Karl Stefanson. Always Number One.

[@devoted_eater567]

RIP

[@purplepanda8805]

F

[@TylerSolvestri]

Sad gamer moment 😭😭😭

[@technobikehd294]

F

[@usahenry]

Come to see Stefan Karl, see that all of Iceland is #1.

[@a_a7287]

Me: 2 minutes in and no mention of airplanes? Nice. 20 seconds later... Wendover: "Iceland has a fairly large airline..." Me: Ah shit. Here we go again...

[@hollar5560]

PrimeKnight that’s, why I’m here

[@SM_Fato]

@@hollar5560 me too

[@IanG99]

Countries investing in tourism Coronavirus: *Im going to end this whole man’s career*

[@eysibest]

Am Icelandic. Can Confirm

[@giatu1]

I was about to post the same comment.

[@mc495150]

Been to iceland in 2012. The most beautiful place on earth

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

You: Ignores Luxembourg. Me:Yeah I take it you're an American.

[@mc495150]

Luxembourgish Empire i’m swiss....not much different from lux, so yeah i prefer iceland

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

@@mc495150 you haven't even seen it so.

[@mc495150]

Luxembourgish Empire ok

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

@Thornback Your Icelandic I can tell. And I can tell you have low intelligence as litterly NOBODY would say "nothing unique about it" so I think you're probably just a troll.

[@messi10gerrard86]

Iceland football team between 2016-2018 was a fairytale no one will forget.🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸 Grettings from Sweden🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

[@sebastianronnqvist3632]

Messi10 Gerrard8 jag är också svensk visst är det kul när han snackar om flygplan

[@messi10gerrard86]

@@sebastianronnqvist3632 hahahahah han kan it låta bli😂😂

[@jessepinkman3075]

Käft

[@turtle-balloon]

@@morebaklavapls3637 what?

[@satyris410]

Those euro 2016 performances were amazing!

[@lucky360pride]

Gets notification from Wendover, starts watching the video, waiting for the mention of an airplane.

[@swissbreeze]

Lucky Anthonny you sound like you have a great life

[@chrismckellar9350]

How do you think the tourists are going to get to Iceland - swim?. Air travel in/out of Iceland is an important part of Iceland tourism infrastructure and helps Iceland's GDP.

[@lucky360pride]

@@swissbreeze yea thanks lol

[@lucky360pride]

@@chrismckellar9350 take it easy man, it's just a joke lol

[@MatthewAtkinson]

Which is why I love this channel!!

[@Etaripamai47]

DONT TOUCH THE MOSS YOU ARE KILLING IT Also, 12:14 aiports l00l

[@kjartannn]

wot

[@I_Santos_]

This guy’s segue into his ad for Brilliant at the end was smooth as glass.

[@valdimareiriksson101]

lol nice try with Eyjafjallajökull :D greetings from Iceland nice vid

[@valdimareiriksson101]

@Tufda Thanks for the offer but if we were to join a country it would be Norway no offence, or a Scandinavian union (best option) In my opinion at least. Spise dansk og snakke frikadeller.

[@valdimareiriksson101]

@Modern Vikingur to be honest I dont see that happening for Icelanders now other currencies might fare better in the coming years, but that might all be irrelevant due to future weather extremes. so if you have the money and want to see somthing do it now. might not stay the same for to long :)

[@user-vn7ce5ig1z]

Join Benelux, make Beneluxic.

[@LonelyCinderella123]

Prices going down in Iceland? LOL good one. No but the currency getting weaker will make it more affordable for tourists.

[@levilima9925]

Pronouncing this and being non-icelandic is simply impossible.

[@devoted_eater567]

Wendover productions:talks about the tourism industry of Iceland 🇮🇸 Also Wendover productions: *STILL* *MENTIONS* *PLANES*

[@andymadden8183]

Well, planes do contribute to tourism, so...

[@devoted_eater567]

Yes but every Damn episode has some kind of reference to planes

[@hoovyzepoot]

@@devoted_eater567 You could say that his plane usage took off

[@christianlilienbecker1476]

Planes are somewhat related to tourism if you think about it. (Sarcasm)

[@tvTwo1]

The topic conveniently talks about planes (aviation) too LMAO

[@hakonhakonarson779]

Greatings from Iceland I think Iceland is just falling out of fasion. The tourist numbers were increasing but the tourists stayed for fewer days and were poorer than the years before. 2015 and 2016 were probably the best tourist years, also because a lot of movies and tv shows were being shot in Iceland and the film industry skyrocketed. But 2017 and 2018 have been a downfall ever since. But I don't think that prices have inflated that much in the last few years. To those who want to come to Iceland, please treat our nature with care and dont stop on the middle of the road to take pictures. This is a serious problem in Iceland and we truly hate tourist that stop in the middle of the road to take pictures.

[@flipmyshit6826]

Absolutely butchered “Eyjafjallajökull” 😂😂 if you say “I feel like a yoghurt” fast and as one word over and over it’ll start to sound like it 😂 pro tip

[@FarfettilLejl]

Why did he even try to pronounce it? I mean, the volcano is also famous for having a difficult to pronounce name, make a joke out of it

[@shardtheduraludon]

Ye, but how do you pronounce “yoghurt”

[@RussianBot69420]

Ey ya fyet la yokut

[@breabanm]

I am a two time visitor to Iceland in 2014 and 2018. The difference in tourist hordes between these years was tremendous and made Reykjavik completely unenjoyable for me last time I was there. While I would not wish anything bad on the country, I do hope the drop in tourism will allow the Icelanders to better preserve their nature and maybe allow tourists looking for seclusion in Iceland's wilderness (myself included) more tranquility. I hope to visit again some day and really go off the beaten trail. Thank you Wendover for reviving some of my best memories.

[@timothyward4685]

1:09 GDP Per Capita in $Bilions... Damn their economy must be good

[@elektrotehnik94]

get me to Iceland, NOW!

[@JohnDoe-nn3ib]

Everyone must be a billionaire then

[@ppsarrakis]

they got lucky with having so low population in a place so "close" to western civilization...

[@maximilianlorosch936]

@@JohnDoe-nn3ib They have 3.1 billionaires per 1 million people.

[@harry-matakios1344]

@@maximilianlorosch936 that's because they only have 1 billionaire lol

[@2urh]

As a born and raised Icelander, this video has my approval! Very well presented and reletable on the overtourism part.

[@ghpgreygpostur4218]

From one Icelandic citizen: Thanks Wendover for credible coverage

[@francikaa1]

After the collapse of WOW i was waiting for when planes will be mentioned in this video. I didn't have to wait long.

[@saleya9668]

I’ll never forget Iceland during the 2016 Euro championship, they were phenomenal and their clapping changed the game to the point where everyone copied it!

[@Altrantis]

Game of Thrones probably also had an impact popularizing Iceland.

[@RiaanLouw]

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty my dude.

[@kjartannn]

idk about that

[@TheNikolaiwolf]

Wendover I have been watching your videos since you had about 50k subscribers and I have to just say one thing. Keep up your great work, you do some of the best researched work I see on youtube. Thank you.

[@kaimurtagh]

You posted this just before my geography exam where it is a topic :)

[@prequeltothesequel4073]

A level geography gang

[@kaimurtagh]

@@prequeltothesequel4073 actually, I'm doing my junior cert in Ireland

[@prequeltothesequel4073]

Kai Murtagh Aaaaa good luck I’ve got a geography exam tomorrow too

[@kaimurtagh]

@@prequeltothesequel4073 all the best!

[@dosmastrify]

Get a risk game with a real world map and play for a bit. You will learn alot fast

[@zaanga7340]

I went to Iceland,with my grandfather as he used to live there.

[@user-yj4qz5lo6k]

GeneralSPatton Games is he from there?

[@kekistanihelpdesk8508]

What a fantastic anecdote.

[@luckyahad]

Cool story

That was one of the more informative and well put together videos you've done! Congratulations

[@jackhood3259]

I love your videos. Keep up the plane references im a massive fan. Been a aviation lover for years and your videos are so informative for those who dont actively follow the industry. I always show your videos to people who want to learn

[@AlexisSmithFilms]

Literally just got back from my trip from Iceland last night!! Great video as always. Definitely recommend visiting!!

[@wanderlust232]

Oh my. Such a well researched documentary matched with a good speaker. Never regretted to be a subscriber. Thank you!

[@q1w2e3621]

agreed

[@KyraLunaWIld]

Yet another great video! Thanks for the great content!

[@DarrienChebator]

Whoop Whoop!! 2 MILLION!! Been waiting for this for a while!! Well done Sam, well done...

[@Takador]

Icelandic tourism is dying because everything is expensive as heck!

[@dieglhix]

How much is a heck nowadays?

[@elijahmartin5291]

@@dieglhix like 3,000$ when going bare bones and not splurging whatsoever.

[@Takador]

@@dieglhix $16 for a beer

[@mattabesta]

@@Takador lol no mate unless that's some high end restaurant. Lots of places have 7-8$ and most no more than 10-11$. Very expensive but that's an exaggeration.

[@heiarsnr7506]

As an icelander, i can confirm that that is true as heck

[@DyslexicMitochondria]

Iceland is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world.Everyone should go there at least once in their lifetime.

[@mjh9438]

I would live to see the scenery. But the tourist will be in my way

[@poeticnation6251]

Cool video. I did not know much about Iceland before this video, but the information provided here has intrigued me - Thank you for sharing this valuable info.

[@Aldmeris]

Finally! A video about my wonderful country- It's just planes.

[@kjartannn]

Flugvélar eru samt ágætar

[@DrROB-oc6vi]

More and more young people are traveling. Mostly backpackers, i even plan to travel Iceland but the thing is its so expensive .

[@nomadben]

I visited Iceland in September of 2017. I drove around the whole country, it was an incredible experience. Even in the "off" season, there was a fuckton of people everywhere, so I can't even imagine what the summers were like.

[@ivarmarkusson382]

well.. in my opinion at least, they are to many, this mass tourism has to end, half of what has been coming here for the last few years would be more then enough,

[@nomadben]

@@ivarmarkusson382 Are you Icelandic? It must be really tough dealing with so many tourists all around your home all the time. I hope you guys are able to find a happy medium.

[@ivarmarkusson382]

@@nomadben yes i am, yes i think most of us think that this has gotten a little out of hand for the very last years. this has really taken its toll on the places we value the most, but still the tourism was part of what saved us after the crash, so i guess many of us want to still have tourism, just a little less of it.

[@nomadben]

@@ivarmarkusson382 I think that's a good idea. I wish you and your people the best of luck Ivar. Cheers from the US

[@jays2002]

Another great vid. Congrats on 2M subs.

[@korakys]

I've been watching this channel since before your first plane video (This Number is Illegal). I also watch dozens of other high quality KZbin channels, most of them also educational. After much consideration I can say that Wendover Productions is the best channel on KZbin.

[@Naeromusic]

Wendover: *ok its no biggie its just a word right?* eyjaflallajokukk Iceland: well at least you tried, it's Eyjafjallajökull

[@iammrbeat]

So go to Newfoundland instead.

[@ksaravanan7297]

This Video unfolded like a thriller movie, tight scripting is really important for an info video, Amazing Job!

[@davorjovanovic7174]

Great and informative as always. Thank you!

[@rhidiandavies1991]

The biggest issue with future Icelandic tourism, as far as I can see, is that it's very expensive. Everyone I've spoken to that's been has commented on how expensive the food and accommodation there is. A pizza in Reykjavik, for example, can cost almost twice as much as a pizza from a city in the UK. That's not necessarily a barrier to tourism, but it does discourage repeat visits. Everyone I've spoken to has said it's a beautiful country, but no one I know has visited more than once. That's likely the cause for the boom and subsequent recession of their tourism in my opinion - why spend another weekend in Iceland when you could have two weeks of sunshine in Portugal for the same price?

[@Magni87]

There had been discussions on the sustainability of tourism in Iceland and some committee suggested that one of the most feasible options was to cater to high-end tourism only. Pretty much that only the well-off would be able to afford to visit. Main points for that approach were to decrease the number of visitors and at the same time drastically increase the money spent per visitor. Think less couchsurfers/campers, more luxury hotel stayers and helicopter tour riders. From much of the infrastructure and resorts I've seen being built here in Iceland in the last couple of years, it kind of looks like that is the direction government is trying to steer the industry. First one I noticed this trend with, was a new spa freshly opened close to Mývatn. Went there to check it out and what I thought was a huge parking lot turned out to be a couple of helicopter pads and bus parking with minimal car parking. Went inside to check out their prices and it was comparably expensive to the Blue Lagoon, which is expensive. P.s. I decided to google that spa while I was writing this and turns out it's been there since 2004. There were some constructions being done when I visited so I assumed they were new but apparently the were just renovating a little and making the parking space when I was there.

[@rhidiandavies1991]

@@Magni87 Ah I see, sort of going the Dubai route I suppose. That doesn't seem that sustainable to me, especially on a community level. Even if the spending of wealthy tourists offsets the reduction in regular tourists, it's likely to be focused in the places you mentioned (a few fancy hotels/spas/restaurants), I wonder if the trickle-down from wealthy tourists will benefit smaller businesses in the country.

[@Croz89]

@@rhidiandavies1991 Vang Vieng in Thailand had the same idea, it was previously overcrowded with backpackers who were prone to drowning themselves tubing down the local river. The issue is that high end tourists tend to be much more demanding, they want luxury hotels, imported food and lots of infrastructure like paved roads where they can drive their personal vehicles, whereas the more middle class backpackers were quite happy with a simple hostel, local food and a taxi or bus ride on dirt roads. As a result the local environmental impact went up despite the reduction in tourists.

[@borginator1493]

Iceland is truly a gorgeous country. Fire & Ice baby!

[@Luxcium]

Borginator it’s not only about fire and ice because it’s also about airplane ✈️

[@vidarfreyr]

An excellent overview. Surprisingly accurate. I see in some of the comments that people are surprised that this talks so much about airliners. As an Icelander, I can appreciate the importance of air travel to our economy. Tourism has become bigger than any other industry. The runner ups being fishing and aluminum manufacturing. An airline of only 10 planes going bust was a national crisis. I guess it is hard for people of larger countries to realize this.

[@drac124]

What an amazing video! Very well done and good analysis.

[@oli-haukur-valtysson]

Finally, a video about Iceland from someone who knows something about Iceland!

[@shubhamvats2140]

Most underrated channel on KZbin

[@notscenerob]

Wow great video, probably your best so far!

[@scampy2840]

these videos are some of the most compelling on youtube. I hate economics at school but enjoy it when it has interesting outcomes to countries. Ive always wanted to visit Iceland btw

[@christophervlaskamp7462]

It’s a miracle that this was uploaded when I was on the internet! Also you have 2 million subscribers now! And again you managed to get planes in it again! (2:23) And economy! And a lot more!

[@chrismckellar9350]

Over tourism can kill a tourist destination. The problems of Iceland are happening in New Zealand where there alot of tourists crowding a over stretched tourism infrastructure. The problem with Iceland and the same in New Zealand, has lead to a rush off tourists, leading to cheap supermarket dirty tourism where the financial yield in tourism products and services are too small to cover re-investment in tourism infrastructure. Both Iceland and New Zealand needs to have sustainable eco-friendly tourism offering quality products and services that generate a good financial yield for the country without the placing the burden on the respective countries tax payers and up setting the locals.

[@C2K777]

I assure you there's nothing cheap in any Icelandic supermarket

[@ttbalog]

Excellent documentary. Thanks

[@ApaceLp]

You metioned it so many times, we finally need a video on that topic: Airline Ticket Price Regulation.

[@WoWShamanify]

They should invest in sea cables to the US/CA and the EU and become a big IT player. They have the best resources to cool down servers in an environmental friendly way.

[@Kenguruh]

Also Iceland is not part of EU so memes are still legal there

[@dadihrafn]

@@Kenguruh Well, kinda. We're a part of the EEA which is somewhat related to the EU.

[@dlodeprojuicer]

Glad to see long-ish videos again. Recently the videos have been so short and rushed it almost seemed like you just want to get to talk about your sponsors and get it over with

[@SrijanChakraborty]

just amazing. absolutely love your videos

[@alexanderflaskjer6042]

I love your vids. Have watch all of them in like two to three weeks

[@anhduynguyendinh1167]

Banking sector crash Enormous Vocano errupt Losing the Euro Cup: "I'm gonna end this country whole career" Iceland: "iT'S fReE AdVertIsing"

[@finnuroc9060]

You understand that we knocked out England and got to the quarter finals, and there we were beaten by the team that literally went on to win the entire competition? I think that's fairly impressive considering our population

[@nutyyyy]

Iceland smashed England in front of a massive audience and got very far.

[@dadihrafn]

We didn't lose by any means, we just weren't the country that won.

[@vasishtvasudevan4059]

@@finnuroc9060 France didn't win the competition. But yeah. Iceland lost to France, who lost to Portugal in the Finals, who were frustrated into a draw by Iceland in their 1st match

[@SiamonT]

Fun fact: This is a video about Iceland

[@darkamagumo716]

Thank you

[@cseblivestreaming8073]

*planes

[@screenname5597]

That was fun

[@seneca983]

Another fun fact: In Icelandic Iceland is "Ísland" which comes from "ís"="ice" and "land"="land".

[@TheKungFOOkid]

Thats a great video young man.

[@brenda-pc6ff]

I love that you always talk about airlines!

[@Denden-kj3rn]

12:23 Wow air got snapped

[@ezrapetty9666]

The team lost????? No. They beat England 2-1 and got to the group stages! "The team lost"

[@isolfurunnar1742]

Pretty sure he meant to nigeria :P

[@caleblim6890]

“The team lost” 5-2 to France in the quarterfinals. So yes. They lost.

[@ArniVidar]

This is a most excellent video on Iceland's tourism explosion, and indeed a realistic outlook on it's future. Well done Wendover!

[@Liam-qr7zn]

0:50 A left-handed handshake? Bold!

[@caticeland]

I so so glad the im from Iceland i love my cotorey🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸

[@drizdoh]

Steinunn Ella ah yes the cotorey

[@godlies9257]

Samálla bruh

[@evropakhan1137]

Please do Canada's geography problem!!!!!

[@checkeredflagfilms]

good. a respite in tourism motivates a return visit. was there for a memorable trip in '69.

[@blackriflerepublic8174]

Just got back from Iceland this week. It is expensive, we shopped at "Bonus" grocery stores and made sandwiches for the majority of our meals, was totally worth going, beautifully stunning landscape and it changes every few miles, there can't be any more beautiful place on earth than Iceland. Snaefellsnes Peninsula was my favorite area.

[@blackriflerepublic8174]

@Panzer Blitz I ate some tasty animals while I was there.

[@phase7639]

Plane: exists Wendover: it’s free real estate

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

Me: what's in the center of the earth? Wendover Productions: Ah, let's see! Yep..... an airplane

[@osacada12345]

this video lowkey made me want to go to iceland tbh great vid!!!

[@planedudea380]

Why are your videos so good! Amazing

[@benshuford129]

I’m going to Iceland on a school trip next year

[@lijmoo]

A possible theory for the decline in tourists visiting Iceland (as sad as it may sound): there a "Seen it. Next!" mentality, I think at play. I was there last year and the amount of people (yes myself included but not as bad as I'm about to make out) who just took photos and selfies at every opportunity was phenomenal. So once people got their photos and moved on (sometimes without even stopping to really LOOK at where they are) they're off to some other spot for another great selfie/photo opportunity. I think there's a "hurry" with tourism today where people just want to be seen to be seen, and therefore when they've been somewhere, there's no incentive to go back. This is also exists for anything (and before smartphones): you don't go to the same restaurant every night so you probably won't visit the same destination every time. Iceland's geographic "isolation" doesn't help. It's not like living in Europe, or Asia, where visiting the neighbouring country is easier, cheaper, and quicker to do on a whim.

[@j.pjoseph8491]

what a wonderful video.. Thanks

[@FransiQ]

From Iceland here. Well done with the pronunciation of the volcano, Eyjafjallajökull !

[@JammastaJ23]

Bjork and Sigur Ros changed EVERYTHING

[@Halli50]

Tourism saved Iceland after the 2008 financial crisis, but was about to drown us 10 years later. Then came the Coronavirus pandemic - we suddenly have our country back! True, a lot of investors went bananas, there was a gold rush in the hotel and tourism industry and many of them will go under. Well, if you fly high you have far to fall. The entire world is in for a rough and uncertain ride for the next couple of years. We will never go completely "back to normal" again, which will probably count as a good thing in a decade or so. Let's hope for a more moderate, well, everything, when the the storm blows over...

[@kevintroutt2633]

I love your belief in moderate growth, very comforting to hear other countries think that way, as an American

[@Halli50]

@@kevintroutt2633, there is an old Icelandic saying: Sígandi lukka er best. This can be translated as "Gradual increases in fortune will serve us best"

[@kevintroutt2633]

@@Halli50 I love it, thank you for sharing it with me. I hope to instill that in my life :)

[@ericschill842]

Good philosophy!!!! Another great video!

[@luisescamadonhamue4117]

I loved the thing of taking and puting zeroes. Maginificent.