Iceland is good at a lot of things: writing, volcanoes, music festivals.
But what it is best at is tourism: 2.6 million visitors are expected in 2017. That’s 20 times the population of its capital.
You’d think at a certain point the whole country would just say: Thanks, we’re full. But tourists power a huge portion of the country’s economy, and so the strategy has, in fact, been to move those visitors around, adding flight’s to Iceland’s secondary airports and away from Reykjavik. Tourism officials also aim to improve on the fact that only one out of five visitors overnights in winter, preferring, by far, the summer months.
And so, the national tourism board has decided to further roll out the red carpet with its series of “Iceland Academy” videos, which purport to examine such topics as hot tub etiquette, selfie strategies for dangerous landscapes and winter sports.
Imagine if Wes Anderson directed a collection of spots for a tiny, freezing cold island nation, and you’ll get the idea (there are a lot of jaunty hats). Most crucially, viewers can enter to win a trip to Iceland by answering some questions after viewing.
Advisory: there’s more male nudity than you might expect. Though it’s all in excessively good cheer.
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