One out of four Icelanders went abroad this summer, as the country began to recover from the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. This per a new Gallup poll, reported by RÚV, and is a marked increase from the summer before, when only 6% of Icelanders left the country.
Though this summer saw an increase in Icelanders enjoying international travel, the numbers are still not close to what they were pre-pandemic. During the summer of 2019, 57% of Icelanders went abroad during the summer; 62% went abroad in 2018. The current poll surveyed Icelanders from all around the country and found that more capital-area residents travelled out of the country than those who live elsewhere in Iceland.
Domestic travel is still experiencing a boom in Iceland, too: three out of four Icelanders travelled within the country this summer, or 76%. That is a slight decrease from the summer before, when 82% of Icelanders travelled domestically.
The poll was conducted from October 7 to 18 and surveyed 1,625 people with a participation rate of 51.1%.
