TOURISM
Tourism affects the turnover and employment in many professions, e.g. air and sea transportation, hotel and catering, and service and trade with souvenirs.
Large-scale tourism in Greenland began in the early 1960's and has played an increasing role for the economy of the above professions and for the general economy.
There are no figures on the total economic impact of tourism on society and the description in this section is primarily based on statistics of bednights and so on as well as on statistics on the number of passengers departing from Greenland.
Tourism statistics are based on the internationally accepted definition of tourism, developed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to this definition, a tourist is a person who:
- moves in space and time beyond his or her normal environment,
- does not receive wages from the place the person travels to,
- stays overnight in the country, and
- does not stay in the country for more than a year.
This definition of a tourist is broad and includes not only persons who travel for leisure purposes. Business travellers, people who are working for a short time in Greenland for foreign companies, and foreign artists and athletes are also covered.
Conversely, day visitors and cruise tourists are excluded by this definition. This type of tourism is increasingly important for Greenland, however, and cruise tourism will be described in a separate section.
Tourism in Greenland
The number of tourists peaks during the brief summer period. The so-called "shoulder seasons" are the months just before and after the high season when the number of tourists declines somewhat. The low season is in the winter when few tourists visit Greenland. The number of tourists is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Foreign Tourists in Greenland in 2005
Note: The number of foreign tourists in Greenland is estimated. Figures for 2006-2008 are in preparation.
Source: Statistics Greenland
Tourism in Greenland is generated by guests from a limited number of countries. Most tourists come from Scandinavia, mainly Denmark. The other tourists are usually from other parts of northern Europe.
The most common purpose of a trip to Greenland is holiday and business, purposes which account for about 55 per cent and approximately 20 per cent of the tourist stays respectively. Moreover, many tourists who travel to Greenland visit family or friends.
Often, business travellers combine their stay in Greenland with vacation or visiting friends; the statistics cannot precisely determine the purpose of the visit.
The majority of tourists choose to stay overnight at a hotel while almost as many choose private accommodation.
Hostels are a popular form of lodging as an alternative to hotels.
The tourists' distribution by age in 2008 is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2
Tourists by Age in 2008
Source: Statistics Greenland
Another way to describe tourism is by using statistics of bednights at hotels, seamen's homes etc. Figure 3 shows the number of guests staying overnight and the average stay length.
The number of guests staying overnight is not equal to the number of tourists. A tourist who chooses to visit several areas and stay overnight at several hotels would count for more than one guest staying overnight.
Figure 3
Guests Staying Overnight and Length of the Average Stay by Month in 2008
Source: Statistics Greenland
Figure 4
Total Number of Bednights by Region in 2008
Source: Statistics Greenland
The total number of bednights, broken down by region, is shown in Figure 4. The monthly distribution of registered bednights in 2008 is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
Nights Spent by Month in 2008
Source: Statistics Greenland
Figure 6
Bednights by Nationality in 2008
Note: The rest of Europe consists of Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, England, and the rest of Europe.
Source: Statistics Greenland
There are about 52 places to stay in Greenland. These are hotels, seamen's homes, hostels and folk high schools. Table 12 displays the proportion of the capacity which was hired out in each region.
In recent years, Greenland has experienced a large increase in the number of cruise ships calling, see Table 1. There have been significant fluctuations between the years but the number has increased significantly since 2000.
A major reason for the growth is the elimination of harbour fees which until 2003 were due at every port of call; instead a passenger fee has been introduced which means that the ship may call at any number of ports once a fixed amount per person has been paid. The new fee makes it more attractive for ships to call at several ports. It has also meant that there are now exact figures for the number of cruise ship tourists.
The cruise ships are both larger and smaller vessels. Large transatlantic cruise ships have found a visit to Greenland convenient as the country is located on their routes between Europe and North America.
Moreover, a number of cruise ships visit Greenland in the summer season sailing a more or less fixed route. These vessels are typically smaller and use a number of Greenlandic ports where passengers get on and off.
Cruise ship tourists do not generate a comparable turnover to that of tourists staying at hotels and eating at restaurants. The cruise tourists' spending in Greenland is primarily focused on trips and souvenirs. The facilities offered at the ports of call of the cruise ships are still under development in order to present the tourist with a varied selection of services.
The fee for cruise tourists is DKK 525 per passenger.
Overview 1
Sources: Statistics Greenland
Development in Tourism
Seen over a longer period of years, tourism has been a sector in growth but the development has not been smooth. Between 2001 and 2002, tourism was generally declining worldwide. In particular, this was due to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, acts of war in subsequent years as well as disease epidemics such as SARS. These developments also affected Greenland where the number of tourists decreased by about 15 per cent from 2001 to 2002. The development has since then been reversed.
This trend is reflected in the bednights statistics where the total number of registered overnight stays has declined in the period from 2001 to 2002 and then risen again in subsequent years.
Figure 7
Annual Bednights by Region
Source: Statistics Greenland
As is shown in Figure 8, the number of tourists has grown since the low of 2001.
Figure 8
Foreign Tourists in Greenland
Note: The number of foreign tourists in Greenland is estimated. Figures for 2006-2008 are in preparation.
Source: Statistics Greenland
International Comparisons
There is a tendency towards increased tourism in most Nordic countries. Especially Iceland has seen a surge in tourism in the past 10 years while developments in other Nordic countries have been more moderate.
Figure 9
Hotel Accommodation in the Nordic Countries
Source: Statistics Greenland
In comparison with the Nordic countries, Greenland hits middle ground in terms of the development in bednights. A growing trend has emerged since 2004.
A Framework for Tourism
The Greenland Tourist and Business Council (GTE) is the national tourist board having its head office in Nuuk and a marketing office at the North Atlantic wharf in Copenhagen. The Government of Greenland has signed service contracts lasting several years with GTE, describing the responsibilities of GTE as regards developing the tourism industry.
Read more about GTE at www.visitgreenland.dk and www.inussuk.gl.
Public subsidies are granted to promote tourism. The business pool Nukiit provides support to strengthen regional business in relation to inter-municipal efforts with at least two parties from the private or the public sector.
Product development support, guarantees, and the TAT schemes are measures to stimulate product development in the tourism industry among other sectors and offer guarantees for businesses under establishment. Finally, advice is offered to entrepreneurs and small businesses.
International Relations
Vestnorden Tourist Board (VTB) is a co-operation agency for national tourism organizations and tourism in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.
In 2007 the co-operation agency formed the North Atlantic Tourism Association (NATA) to streamline the tourism co-operation among the west Nordic countries.
The goal is to strengthen and coordinate future co-operation in areas of common interest in tourist related matters.
In the context of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Greenland has participated in developing background material for two Nordic ministerial declarations on the development of sustainable tourism in the entire Nordic region and especially in the Arctic.
Finally, co-operation is taking place with the United States through the Joint Committee on infrastructure development in Greenland and on projects to establish a connection between the US and Greenland.