WHY GREENLAND COULD BE THE NEXT GO-TO DESTINATION FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Can Greenland, with its massive icebergs, dramatic, unspoilt scenery and new airports, increase visitor numbers sustainably?

Even after more than 100 trips to the icebergs of Ilulissat in western Greenland, tour guide Sigurd Janniche Thomsen still finds each journey special.

"The light changes every time, and so do the icebergs," he says, as he leads visitors through the Ilulissat Icefjord, a Unesco World Heritage site.

Around his small excursion boat an almost eerie silence prevails, broken only by the distant cracking of ice.

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In the freezing minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit) air, towering icebergs - some reaching 100 metres (330ft) high - drift slowly towards Disko Bay and beyond to the open sea.

"Don't worry, we're not about to re-enact Titanic," Thomsen quips. The infamous iceberg that doomed the legendary passenger liner in 1912 most likely originated from this very fiord.

As the ship crunches through the thick ice, breaking it apart as it moves, he explains how these huge chunks break off from the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. This process - called calving - is happening faster now because of global warming.

Ilulissat's icy landscape serves as a silent witness to the planet's shifting climate, offering visitors a breathtaking yet sobering experience.

Despite its remote location, Greenland is opening up to the world. The world's largest island - loudly coveted by US President Donald Trump - is working to expand tourism through a new law aimed at sustainable tourism and greater economic benefits for locals.

By 2035, Greenland aims to double its tourist numbers and for tourism to account for 40 per cent of the country's export value and create over 2,000 jobs, says Tanny Por from Visit Greenland.

Tourism in Greenland is on the rise. In 2023, visitor numbers hit 140,000 - up from the long-standing 100,000 average - driven by growth in air travel and cruise ship arrivals.

But can Greenland replicate Iceland's tourism boom? Iceland welcomed a staggering 2.3 million visitors in 2023 - six times its population. Greenland, with just 57,000 residents, remains far from such figures.

"Greenland still feels undiscovered and untouched - it has that mystery Iceland once had," says Por. "It's wilder, rougher, and incredibly remote. That's its biggest draw right now."

The capital, Nuuk, and the town of Ilulissat remain top destinations, but "micro-tourist" experiences are also being promoted, Por says. These intimate tours are for small groups of people who embrace a more sustainable, localised and personalised approach to travel.

Beyond classic dog sledding and northern lights tours, visitors can now sleep in igloos, explore the ice sheet or go heli-skiing down untouched mountain peaks.

A major game-changer is Greenland's new international airport in Nuuk, featuring a 2,200-metre runway, enabling direct flights from Copenhagen, Denmark, in just five hours.

This eliminates the need to transfer to small propeller planes in Kangerlussuaq - a remote town of just 500 residents that long served as Greenland's primary international gateway.

By late 2026, Ilulissat will also welcome a new international airport, further increasing accessibility. "The goal is to make Greenland more connected," says Jens Lauridsen, head of Greenland Airports.

Greenland is taking notes from Iceland's meteoric rise in tourism but aims to avoid its pitfalls.

"We don't want a second Golden Circle," Lauridsen says, referring to Iceland's crowded tourist route. "We want to retain some of the uniqueness that the Golden Circle once had. That's one of the things we've learned from Iceland," he says.

Instead, Greenland plans to spread tourism across the seasons and regions, ensuring sustainable growth.

The goal is to do more than just to put Nuuk and Ilulissat on the map, Lauridsen explains. A well-balanced tourism model will benefit both visitors and residents while maintaining Greenland's wild, unspoilt nature.

The buzz around US president Trump's interest in buying Greenland feels distant amid the quiet of the Ilulissat Icefjord. Yet his fellow Americans will soon be visiting more frequently.

From mid-June until the end of September, United Airlines plans to operate direct flights from New York's Newark international airport to Nuuk. Meanwhile, Scandinavian airline SAS is preparing its own direct routes from Copenhagen to Nuuk as well.

As Greenland opens its doors to the world, it remains committed to keeping tourism sustainable, preserving its wild landscapes and learning from its Arctic neighbour's experience.

The question now is: can Greenland strike the right balance between growth and preservation?

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