Category: News
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Moonwalker breaks ground for museum expansion
Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, who in 1972 became the youngest man to walk on the Moon, broke ground for a new wing of the Exploration Museum today. Charlie Duke spent 3 days on the Moon, performing scientific experiments, as well as roaming over the lunar surface on the Lunar Rover. The Moonwalker was joined…
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American astronaut, modern Norwegian vikings and Indian twin climbers win exploration awards
American explorer Scott Parazynski was awarded the Leif Erikson Exploration Award earlier this evening during the final night of the Explorers Festival in Húsavík. As a veteran of five Space Shuttle flights and seven spacewalks, and as the only astronaut to have summited Mt. Everest, Parazynski is awarded the 2016 Leif Erkison Exploration Award for…
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Icelandair begins flights to Chicago
Icelandair began a new year-round service from Chicago O’Hare International Airport today, with four weekly round-trips to Iceland on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with connections to more than 20 destinations in Europe. The airline will operate a Boeing 767 on the route instead of a B757 as originally planned. This change will augment capacity…
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Learn how to avoid Hot Tub awkwardness in Iceland
Promote Iceland has launched a new project called Iceland Academy, a web-based introduction to increase awareness of and interest in Iceland as a destination with emphasis on responsible conduct by tourists, their safety and pleasure. The campaign teaches tourists about Icelandic culture, traditions and nature with mini-classes on the internet and social media. Our favorite…
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Húsavík Whale Museum reopened with new Blue Whale Exhibition
The Húsavík Whale Museum was reopened earlier this week after being closed most of this winter for renovation and installation of a new exhibit. The highlight of the reopening celebration was the unveiling of the newest exhibit, a Blue Whale skeleton. In 2010, the Blue Whale was found beached in Skagi in northwest Iceland. The…
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WOW air to enter into the hotel market
WOW air is expanding its presence in Icelandic tourism market with plans to build a new hotel in Kópavogur, just south of the capital Reykjavík. The airline, which was founded in 2011, describes itself as “the airline with the biggest smile and lowest prices”. Currently serving 23 destinations in Europe, the USA, and Canada, the…
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Ten startups selected to participate in Icelandic business accelerator
Ten startups from around Iceland have been selected to participate in the Icelandic business accelerator Startup Tourism. Startup Tourism is a mentorship-driven business accelerator for Icelandic companies in the tourism sector. The ten companies were selected from 74 applicants, to take part in a 10 week program in Reykjavík, starting on February 1st, where they…
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North Sailing a top three finalist for the WTTC Awards
Whale watching operator North Sailing in Húsavík is among the 15 Finalists shortlisted for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards in 2016, as announced by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) recently. These annual awards are among the highest accolades in the industry and represent the gold standard in sustainable tourism. North Sailing is among…
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Skúlagarður Country Hotel opens a new Guesthouse
Skúlagarður Country Hotel in North Iceland will open a new guesthouse this summer. The hotel now offers 17 rooms with private bathrooms. “The new guesthouse has 30 rooms with shared facilities and will start operation in in June. Our aim is to offer budget accommodation in this area,” says manager Axel Yngvason. The new guesthouse,…
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50 years ago today: A new island is born
50 years ago today, a new island was born, off the southern coast of Iceland. The new island was named Surtsey, after Surtr, a fire jötunn or giant from Norse mythology. It was intensively studied by volcanologists during its eruption, and afterwards by botanists and biologists as life forms gradually colonised the originally barren island.…