‘We learned from Iceland’s mistakes’: The Faroe Islands’ hopes and fears about tourism boom

Jorgen Niclasen never imagined that one day thousands of tourists would land on the Faroe Islands. Or that, on this archipelago lost in the North Atlantic, where fine weather is rare and there is often thick fog, he would come across groups of Americans hiking around the cliffs of Kalsoy, photographing the grass-roofed houses of Gjogv, or watching puffins on the rocks of Mykines.

“For us, waterfalls were just water. Fjords, just fish stocks. Rocky spurs, just stone. We couldn’t see the beauty of it all,” confided the 55-year-old Faroe Islander. In summer, he accompanies tourists by boat to the Drangarnir Arch, one of the Faroe Islands’ most famous postcard locations.

“Many decide to come after seeing photos on Instagram. Social media has made us exist,” admitted Jens Eystein i Lodu, co-founder of Bluegate, the agency that organizes sea trips.

He started his business in 2017, with a single motorboat. He now owns three, and soon a fourth. A one-hour trip costs €90 per person.