Greenland beefs up tourism incentive package

A 2019 photo of Ilulissat, Greenland. The government is hoping the promotion of domestic tourism will help offset the financial impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
After feedback from the business community, Greenland is beefing up its tourism aid package, established to help the industry still reeling from worldwide COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The aid package, announced in June, encouraged hotels and tourism operators to offer COVID-19 discounts that the businesses could then reclaim from the government.

The COVID-19 rebates for hotels run up to 500 Danish kroner (approximately $100 CDN).  And discounts for one tour experience per day run up to 300 Danish kroner (approximately $62 CDN). 

New rules

But on Friday, the Greenlandic government said tour operators may now apply for more than one trip per day. The government has also expanded the package so that those temporarily residing in Greenland for work can also apply for COVID-19 discounts.

The new rules came into effect on July 17.

The new initiative will be in effect until September 30.

Tackling travel downturn

Greenland is one of many Arctic territories offering incentives to encourage local tourism, in order to make up for the downturn in international tourism due to COVID-19.

Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Scrapped 2020 cruise season will cost communities in Nunavut, Canada almost $1 million, Eye On The Arctic

Finland: Finland joins other Nordic countries in virtual tourism due to pandemic, Yle News

Iceland: Iceland offers COVID-19 testing to international travellers starting June 15, Eye on the Arctic

Norway: Norwegian Arctic wilderness tourism hit particularly hard by coronavirus, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: All Russia’s North Pole cruises rescheduled to 2021, Eye on the Arctic

Sweden: Sweden seen as major source of COVID-19 in Western Finland region, Yle News

United States: Airline shutdown creates new challenges for rural Alaska, The Associated Press

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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