In July, 69,000 visitors to Iceland sought the services of the Reykjavík Tourist Information in Aðalstræti in the city center—more people than have ever visited the information center in one month since it was established in 1987.
On July 30, a total of 2,700 people visited the tourist information, more than on any other day. Visitors to the center have increased by more than 30 percent in the first seven months of 2016 compared to last year, currently numbering 278,000. The year-over-year increase measured as much as 66 percent in January, as stated in a press release by Visit Reykjavík.
In addition to providing tourists with the conventional travel information, the center informs tourists about travel safety in collaboration with the Safe Travel initiative, run by ICE-SAR search and rescue.
The number of tourists in Iceland has increased rapidly in recent years, from 488,000 people in 2010 to an expected 1.73 million this year.
The increase in tourists has sadly led to more accidents. Tourism operators and marketing offices, such as Inspired by Iceland, stress the importance of visitors learning about the potential risks when driving and traveling in Iceland.
Under the slogan Reykjavík Loves, the tourist information center helps introducing new destinations within the greater Reykjavík area to distribute tourists more evenly and to prevent the most popular spots from becoming overcrowded.
The Reykjavík Tourist Information center is open 8 am to 8 pm every day of the year except Christmas Day, December 25. This autumn, the center will move to the City Hall.
