The Year in Review

Blog Layout

The Year in Review

Jan 05, 2021

What can we say about 2020? There is no simple way to sum it up, it certainly had its ups and downs for our community in Northeastern Iceland.

A cold bright winter day in Húsavík.

In previous years we have been witnessing a significant increase in number of tourists making their way to Húsavík and the surrounding area. Hence, at the beginning of the year, we were optimistic and excited to show visitors our lovely town. Additionally, the suspense was building up for the premiere of the Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which was scheduled to be released mid-year.

We all know what happened in the early months of 2020, and the Covid-19 outbreak turned everything upside down. Iceland is a country of only 360 thousand inhabitants but welcomed almost six times as many tourists in 2019 and in recent years the Icelandic economy has been highly dependent on international travelers.

Luckily, the spread of the pandemic was slowing during the early summer months in Iceland and domestic travelers began to travel around Iceland. Usually, Icelanders flock to sunny beaches abroad but this year was different and a vast number of Icelandic travelers visited Húsavík. The Icelandic government handed out digital travel vouchers for every citizen eighteen years and older in an attempt to encourage domestic travels and jump-start the Icelandic tourism industry. Two-thirds of the Icelandic population lives in the capital region and during this summer the Northeastern part of Iceland became a popular destination, as a part of a weekend getaway or longer travels.

The whale watching tour operators Gentle Giants and North Sailing sailed several times a day with travelers closely watching the whales in Skjálfandi bay. In recent times, whale watching tours have been more demanded by international tourists but in 2020 an increased number of Icelanders experienced the wonders of Skjálfandi as well.

It is difficult to wrap the year up and not including Icelander's favorite topic, the weather. It was a pleasant summer, we got sunny days with temperatures averaging in double digits. Arguably, the northeastern region had the “best” summer although inhabitants in other regions could disagree, but this has been a vexed question among Icelanders for many decades.

26^th of June 2020 was an anticipated day for the roughly 2,000 people who live in Húsavík when the Eurovision film was premiered on Netflix. We followed the childhood friends Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir, making music together as the band Fire Saga. The Netflix film crew came to Húsavík in October 2019 and filmed a good part of the movie in Húsavík. The cream on the crop was the final song Husavik (My Home Town) but millions have listened to the song since the movie was released and many alternative versions of the song have been made.

In the later summer months, July and August, we started to welcome a growing number of international tourists. Many who visited the GeoSea baths and enjoyed the untouched nature or explored the Eurovision film locations and ending the day at the newly opened outdoor-seated bar Jaja Ding Dong.

During the autumn months, travel restrictions on the Icelandic borders got stricter and international visitors started to decline.

When this is written the days are getting longer and brighter and we are optimistic about the future. We sincerely hope that we can welcome more travelers to Húsavík shortly and we will do everything in our power to make your adventure as safe as possible.

See you soon and a happy new year.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Örlygur Hnefill ráðinn verkefnastjóri Húsavíkurstofu

by Visit Húsavík • 15 Sept, 2022

Örlygur Hnefill ráðinn verkefnastjóri Húsavíkurstofu

Útgáfa staðbundinna samfélagslagsleiðarvísa fyrir ferðafólk

by Visit Husavik • 09 Jun, 2022

Nýir leiðarvísar fyrir ferðafólk um hvað má og hvað má ekki

Húsavíkurstofa og AECO - Samfélagslegur leiðarvísir - Skráning

by Visit Husavik • 17 Feb, 2022

Vinnudagur með Húsavíkurstofu og AECO fimmtudaginn 3. mars

oskar for husvik óskar óskarsson my hometown academy awards oscars

Red carpet rolled out in Húsavík for the new Óskar

by Visit Husavik • 21 Apr, 2021

The people of Húsavík in North Iceland are ready for the Oscars 2021. On Monday, the only Óskar in town declared the red carpet on Húsavík's main street formally open. Cutting a ribbon along with the mayor of Húsavík, the local girls' choir was also present, among others. The choir had participated in recording a video where Molly Sandén performed the song Husavik, which is nominated for an Academy Award this year. Due to unusual circumstances, Sandén could not perform the song on stage at the Oscars as planned. Instead, she went to Húsavík to record a music video with the locals. The video will be premiered at the award ceremony, increasing the anticipation of the locals for this years Oscars, who are already hopeful that the song named after their hometown will win the Oscar and bring attention to this small town that is known as the primary location in Iceland for whale watching.

óskar for húsavík - oscar campaign husavik

The Óskar Story Continues

by Visit Husavik • 09 Apr, 2021

Óskar Óskarsson is back! The song “Husavik” was nominated for the best original song in the 93rd Academy Awards. The ceremony will be held 25th of April and we can’t wait. Nobody is happier than Óskar Óskarsson, as he might welcome another Óskar to Húsavík. After many days of celebrating the Oscar nomination, he is back with a new video. The new campaign follows Óskar and Olaf Yohansson on the Oscar night itself. Olaf (Jaja DingDong guy) is willing to do absolutely anything to see his favorite tune Jaja Dingdong win instead of local’s favorite Husavik. Olaf might have tricks up his sleeve – check out how it pans out in the video below

Húsavík launches Oscar campaign

by Visit Husavik • 04 Mar, 2021

An Óskar for Húsavík! - Help us get an Oscar nomination.

husavik eurovision oscar nomination fire saga esc fire saga will ferrell

Oscar nomination for Husavik?

by Visit Husavik • 10 Feb, 2021

Nine category shortlist for the 93rd Academy Awards was published yesterday. Among them is the category for best original song. One hundred five songs were eligible in the category and now the shortlist has been cut down to only fifteen songs fighting for an Oscar nomination.