Greenland split over benefits of tourism as territory opens to the world

Direct flights from the US to Nuuk expected to double next year but there are concerns about the expected influx

The capital’s new airport has been opened, two more are in the making, and expectations are high: the Americans are coming to Greenland.

On Thursday, the first ever international flight into Nuuk, the most populous settlement on the autonomous Danish territory, landed to cheers on the ground and in the cabin of Air Greenland flight GL781 where passengers were served miniature bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne.

The flight took off from Copenhagen, the Danish capital, and it was a sufficiently historic moment for Denmark’s foreign minister to be onboard. It was also a precursor to what could be a more significant development.

From June, United Airlines will run a nonstop, four-hour flight from Newark Liberty international airport in New Jersey to Nuuk.

It will be the first direct flight to Greenland from the US and is considered to be the beginning of a new era. Airlines ran flights with a combined 55,000 seats to Greenland between April and August; that figure will nearly double next year to about 105,000 seats.

Two further airports, in Ilulissat in the west of the territory and Qaqortoq, farther south, both known for their scenic fjords, are expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

Not everyone, however, is pleased.

Approximately 89% of the population is Greenlandic Inuit​ and, while ​surveys indicate strong support for increasing the size of the tourism sector​, concerns have been voiced in this community, particularly about the spoiling of the land’s pristine beauty and the potential for foreign companies to leach the profits.

This summer, a large cruise ship trying to enter the port of Ilulissat was blockaded over claims that it was providing business solely to foreign-owned tour providers and bringing over its own guides.

With next year’s election in mind, the government responded to the concerns last week, passing a contentious tourism law that will come into force on 1 January.

A public consultation will lead to a system to classify areas of Greenland into green, yellow, and red zones, restricting access to “high sensitivity” areas to protect delicate ecosystems already under pressure from the climate emergency, cultural heritage sites, and traditional hunting grounds.

There will also be new ownership requirements for tourist businesses. A tourism licence will only be given to someone registered in Greenland and paying tax there. At least two-thirds of a limited liability company’s capital and voting rights must be owned by a local.

Pipaluk Ostermann, who works on the cash till at Tupilak Travel, an independent travel agency in the centre of Nuuk, beamed at the thought of the new airport and the US tourist dollars but admitted she had been worried about foreign companies moving in. “But with this law, it feels more reassuring,” she said.

Others have said the “Trumpian” and “protectionist” regulation will stifle foreign investment just at the moment it is needed.

Jon Krogh, 51, and his wife, Anika, 46, run a high-end glamping company, Nomad Greenland, which has been featured in the Financial Times and National Geographic.

Krogh said he feared what the Americans would come to make of Greenland, given the paucity of its tourist infrastructure. His company survived the pandemic thanks to a foreign investor who holds a 40% stake, he said.

Since the law was passed, his company’s value has plummeted, he said, and he will have to abandon plans to create new lodges from which tourists would be able to experience the untouched wilderness.

Krogh said: “We had a company worth almost €2m before the law. Now, it’s worth the assets. Who’s going to buy it? Four people in Greenland have the money. I have no exit any longer, no ambition to build this any further.

“People are buying airline tickets up here expecting something that they’re used to. The best hotel here is – what – two stars in Dubai … So they will fly home, very disappointed. And we will spend the next 10 or 15 years rebuilding this image that we just destroyed by opening up like this and having an influx of a lot of people but no hotels, no activities.”

He added: “We need a reality check as well. Greenland is special. It is amazing. It is beautiful. But it’s not the only amazing and beautiful place on the planet.”

In 2022, 92,637 tourists visited Greenland, rising to 131,767 last year. The majority of visitors came from Denmark, Germany, the US and other European countries.

Cover photo: By The Guardian