This year, the number of departures of Icelanders from Keflavik International Airport has decreased by half compared to last year, ruv.is reports. On the other hand, departures of travelers of foreign nationalities grew somewhat. Never have so many foreigners left the country in one month as in August.
Tourists in Iceland. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
This is according to statistics issued by The Icelandic Tourist Board, which monitors traffic through Keflavik International Airport. The number of foreign tourists increased this summer and this August a new record was broken: 92,000 foreigners left the country, which is 8,000 more than in august of 2008. However, departures of Icelanders have decreased considerably.
In August 2008, 39,000 Icelanders left the country compared to 24,000 last month. This is a decrease of 40%. Since January 1st, 350,000 foreign guests have left the country or 1% more than the same period last year. For the same time period, departures by Icelanders have decreased by 45%.
