Air Greenland’s managing directore director Jacob Nitter Sørensen was an unusually happy and satisfied man when the company carried out the first direct flight between Copenhagen and Ilulissat on Thursday last week on the same day that the ice fjord city’s new airport opened.
– It will be a game changer for the city, business and especially the tourism industry, the director told Sermitsiaq on the four-hour flight from Copenhagen.
Air Greenland’s managing directore director Jacob Nitter Sørensen was an unusually happy and satisfied man when the company carried out the first direct flight between Copenhagen and Ilulissat on Thursday last week on the same day that the ice fjord city’s new airport opened.
– It will be a game changer for the city, business and especially the tourism industry, the director told Sermitsiaq on the four-hour flight from Copenhagen.
– It is one of the most significant barriers to development in Ilulissat, which is now gone. Ilulissat is now only a few hours away from Europe – and that will certainly mean many more visitors to the city. There will be growth across the board.
– We saw the same thing in Nuuk when the new airport opened there. Guests from all over the world flocked – and tourism exploded. The same will happen in Ilulissat.
A cold hotspot
Jacob Nitter believes that Ilulissat will become a hotspot for winter tourism.
– It is not about Isfjorden alone. There is the option of Northern Lights tourism, dog sledding, snowmobiles and gourmet tourism. Ilulissat simply has so many strings to play that there is room for everyone – and something to offer everyone.
– First of all, the new airport will make tourism a year-round business in Ilulissat. The city will be accessible all year round. This will create better profitability for the hotels and probably also contribute to more people investing in the hotel industry. The tour operators will also experience growth, states Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
– Everything else is easier to bet on tourism if there is something to do all year round – regardless of whether it is as a tour operator, hotel or restaurant industry.
– But you should not underestimate the importance of the Isfjord for tourism in Ilulissat, believes the director.
– That’s the draw. It is known all over the world – and it is the Isfjord that is the locomotive of tourism in Ilulissat. For tourists, the Isfjorden is simply a must – not least for those tourists who have the trip to Greenland as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Air Greenland plays a part in the success
Jacob Nitter Sørensen is also a party to the case himself, because Air Greenland is itself a major player in Ilulissat’s business life. The company owns the Arctic Hospitality Group, which, among other things, operates Hotel Arctic, Ilimanaq Lodge and Eqi Glacier Lodge.
– Of course, it also has an impact on our companies in the Ilulissat area. It was partly because of the view of the new airport that we invested in an upgrade and expansion of Eqi a few years ago, explains Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
– But that’s not what makes me happy. There are so many options in Ilulissat that there is room for everyone. The decision about the new airport is so big that we can’t even see the scope of it yet. In ten years, we will not understand at all why the decision gave rise to debate at all, states the Air Greenland director.
