Donald Trump’s expansionist ambitions have seen Greenland make headlines for months. There has been talk of its relationship with Denmark and push for island independence, its mining wealth in rare earths and even its geostrategic value in the struggle for control of the Arctic. The island is also often in the news for the massive ice loss that is accelerating as a result of climate change. However, Greenland is involved in another phenomenon that is rarely talked about: the tourismThis is particularly noticeable in the expansion of its airport network.
After the opening of three airfields in record time, there are already people who are jokingly talking about “Ibiza on ice”.
Flights to Ilulissat. After months of making headlines for Donald Trump’s determination to “part” of the United States and sign security deals with Washington and Copenhagen, Greenland is back in the news. Although for quite different reasons. A few days ago the island inaugurated a new airport with international flights which, initially, will improve the island’s connections with Denmark and Iceland.
The terminal is located in Ilulissat, Greenland’s third most populous city (5,100 inhabitants) and debuted last week with a flight to Copenhagen that lasted 4.5 hours and carried 169 passengers, including government officials.
Buiobuione (Wikipedia).
An airport for 5,100 people? No. And that’s the key. Ilulissat is not only the third most populous city in Greenland, although it has the equivalent of only 5,000 inhabitants, about 10% of the estimated 56,000 who live on the entire island. The city is one of the most interesting and visited points in Greenland. In fact, it is known as “Iceberg City”.
Although its name may not be well-known on the international tourist circuit and is often overshadowed by the Greenlandic capital (Nuuk), Ilulissat offers an interesting offer for lovers of frozen landscapes and adventures: dog sledding rides, visits to the Ilulissat Ice Fjord (UNESCO World Heritage Site), visits to Trifis and Boeing. right time of year) activities to enjoy the Northern Lights.
According to Trap Greenland, before 2019 Ilulissat recorded 31,103 overnight stays by travelers including Greenlanders. The website also mentions thousands of cruise passengers.
Excellent yes, accessible no. The problem (at least so far) is that Ilulissat is as inaccessible as it is attractive. If you wanted to visit the city on the west coast of Greenland, you basically had two options: pay for a cruise or find a way to get there by air. If you choose the latter, you can fly into one of Greenland’s major airports, such as Nuuk International, and board a plane there to Ilulissat.
The alternative was to board a small plane directly from Iceland. According to the Associated Press Agency, there is no road connection connecting Ilulissat with other major cities on the island, which is not surprising if we consider that about 80% of Greenland’s land area is covered in ice.
The situation is so complicated that for decades the main entrance to the Arctic island from abroad has been the former US military air bases at Kangarlussuaq and Narsersuaq.
Beyond Ilulissat. If the new Greenland terminal has sparked so much interest, it’s not just because of the opening. What a really interesting topic. The new Ilulissat airport is the third infrastructure of its kind that the island has opened in record time.
The most important breakthrough came exactly two years ago, at the end of 2024, with the opening of a terminal in Nuuk designed for international connections. There was even talk of offering summer flights with the US. Last April, the regional government went a step further by launching another infrastructure in Kakorto that facilitates access to the south.
An ‘Ibiza on ice’? The expression is not ours. I used it ironically recently guardian In a piece where he precisely reviews the opening of the airport on the island and the apparent commitment to the tourism sector, which the island authorities do not hide. During the inaugural flight between Ilulissat and Copenhagen, the region’s own prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, recognized that “if Greenland is to be independent, it needs a solid economic, industrial and business base.”
And the answer is tourism? It is certainly a valuable economic engine in the complex context of the island’s fishing industry. Of course, this is not all opportunity. There are already some in Greenland who view with skepticism (or a critical approach) the commitment to a sector that, they warn, does not always take local business into account.
The reality is, today, Greenland is still far from being a mass destination. In 2025 it received ‘only’ 180,000 visitors, although this is a record figure that improves the 2024 balance by 8%. This has to be assessed considering the island’s population of only 56,000. The sector represented 4.9% of GDP in 2024.
Picture | See Greenland (Unsplash) and f Buiobuione (Wikipedia).
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