Greenland sees tourism boost following Trump’s attention and new airport

NUUK, Greenland - Mr Ivik Knudsen-Ostermann, whose company runs boat tours to see Greenland’s glittering blue icebergs, said his bank has told him to expand ahead of an expected influx of tourists after US President Donald Trump put the island in the global spotlight.

Mr Trump’s comments, coupled with the opening of a new international airport in the capital Nuuk, have already boosted arrivals, and more are expected.

“Already now, we are getting many more bookings than we have received earlier, especially because of a man with the last name of Trump. He has really put Greenland on the map once again,” said Mr Knudsen-Ostermann, operator of Greenland Cruises, standing on the dock of an ice-packed harbour.

Greenland became the focus of international attention in January when Mr Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr

arrived at the newly opened Nuuk airport.

Since then, the US President has doubled down on his pledge to make the Arctic island part of the United States, as he eyes its vast wealth of rare earth minerals critical for high-tech industries.

Greenland is hoping new airports will bolster its tourism and mining industries to diversify the economy, which is currently reliant on fishing for 95 per cent of its exports.

The country’s vast ice sheet, glaciers, deep fjords and abundance of marine life, including whales, are the key attractions, while pride in the local Inuit culture is also growing.

The opening of the airport in Nuuk in November 2024 has made travel to the island easier. United Airlines is set to begin direct flights from New York to Nuuk in June, replacing the previous route which required tourists to fly via Copenhagen and transit at the former US military base Kangerlussuaq.

Ilulissat, Greenland’s main tourist hub known for its Unesco-listed ice fjord, is also due to open a new international airport in 2026, while another international airport is under construction in Qaqortoq, in southern Greenland.

“We will see quite a significant growth this summer already,” said Mr Jens Lauridsen, chief executive of Greenland Airports.

While the bank is telling Mr Knudsen-Ostermann to get more boats and more people, he said he is cautious.

“I want to see what the new airport brings us, what 2025 brings us. We don’t know the future, so I am holding back a little,” he said.

Statistics Greenland reported a 14 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of passengers on international flights to Greenland in January. The number of hotel nights has seen a steady increase over the past decade, with 355,000 recorded in 2024, up from 210,000 in 2014, it said.

Three-quarters of tourism operators reported an increase in bookings in the three months following the opening of Nuuk’s new airport, according to Visit Greenland.

Mr Lars Ipland, a Danish tourist in Nuuk, said Greenland was one of the last parts of the world he had not seen.

“It is a part of Denmark, so I thought I have to see it. Now, with all the attention, you don’t know what is happening next week or if it is another flag up here or whatever they decide to do.” REUTERS