- Title: Greenland sees tourism boost following Trump's attention and new airport
- Date: 21st March 2025
- Summary: NUUK, GREENLAND (FILE - FEBRUARY 12, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUN SETTING NEAR THE OLD HARBOUR OF NUUK (SOUNDBITE)(English) TOURIST FROM DENMARK VISITING NUUK, LARS IPLAND, SAYING: “It was one of the last parts of the world I haven’t seen, actually, so it was on my bucket list, so that’s why I want to come here, and also of course it’s a part of Denmark, so I thought I h
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Denmark Donald Trump Greenland airport tourism
- Location: NUUK, GREENLAND
- City: NUUK, GREENLAND
- Country: Greenland
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA003967818032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Greenland is hoping the capital Nuuk’s new international airport will boost tourism and diversify Greenland's economy after U.S. President Donald Trump put the island in the global spotlight.
The opening of the airport in Nuuk in November last year has made travel to the island easier. United Airlines (UAL.O) 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 U.S. 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 Jens Lauridsen, CEO of Greenland Airports.
Greenland became the focus of international attention in January when Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived at the newly opened Nuuk airport.
Since then, the U.S. 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.
Ivik Knudssen-Ostermann, whose company runs boat tours to see Greenland's glittering blue icebergs, says his bank has told him to expand ahead of an expected influx of tourists after Trump’s comments.
"Already now, we are getting many more bookings than we have received earlier, especially because of a man with the last name of Trump," Knudsen-Ostermann, operator of Greenland Cruises, said, standing on the dock of an ice-packed harbour.
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.
Statistics Greenland reported a 14% 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 last year, 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.
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