ABSTRACT
Tourism is Iceland’s biggest export industry. Traditionally, Germany, UK, USA, and the other Nordic countries have been the key source markets; however, since 2015, Chinese tourists have become a significant group for Icelandic tourism. In 2010, there were 5,000 Chinese tourist arrivals, and this has increased to 99,000 in 2019, making them one of the largest tourist groups. However, very little is known about how the Icelandic tourism industry is responding to and experiencing this new group of tourists. This chapter presents the results of interviews with tour guides who have an extensive face-to-face experience with Chinese tourists, together with interviews with selected tourism industry representatives to illuminate the industry’s experiences of hosting and interacting with Chinese tourists. The chapter identifies some key issues, challenges, and opportunities for the Icelandic tourism and hospitality industries and provides some practical recommendations for those industries.
