The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Popular holiday destination allows tourists again - but only with an annual salary of over 74,000 euros

2020-11-25T21:30:06.550Z


A popular holiday destination wants to boost tourism again despite the corona pandemic - but initially only with travelers who can leave a lot of money behind.


A popular holiday destination wants to boost tourism again despite the corona pandemic - but initially only with travelers who can leave a lot of money behind.

The tourism industry * has suffered enormously since the beginning of the corona pandemic.

And countries in particular, whose income comes primarily from this branch of the economy, have to get creative in order to make safe - and also profitable - travel possible.

Iceland came up with something very special.

Entry despite Corona: Iceland tourists have to earn a lot of money

Before the pandemic, income from tourism made up 42 percent of the Icelandic economy, according to the online portal Skift.

Now the Land of Fire and Ice is offering

foreign nationals

who work remotely for a company or who are self-employed a long-term

visa

that allows them to

stay in Iceland

for

up to six months

.

In order to be approved for the extended stay, the person concerned must “provide evidence of an employment relationship with a foreign company (or proof of self-employment in which they have a permanent residence) and meet the income and health insurance requirements,” it says on the website “ Work in Iceland ”.

And the income requirements are enormous - according to Bloomberg, the people concerned have to

earn

one million Icelandic kronor

a month (the equivalent of around 6,200 euros a month).

This results in an

annual salary of around 74,500 euros

.

Also interesting

: this holiday country will probably only allow tourists again in a year - with one exception.

Corona times in Iceland: why are only high-income tourists allowed?

"I think the point is to

attract high-income

professionals from Silicon Valley or San Francisco

so that they can spend their money here instead of there," says the Icelandic politician Asta Gudrun Helgadottir about the new regulations.

The measure seems to be tailored precisely to this target group.

Even if guests aren't strictly tourists, there is hope that they will boost the economy by

taking advantage of unused Airbnbs, filling empty restaurants, and exploring the great outdoors on weekends

.

According to the Bloomberg report, locals also assume that this measure should generate income

without attracting large crowds

- and without burdening the health system.

There is currently a

14-day quarantine

requirement when entering Iceland

, which can be shortened by a negative corona test upon entry.

However, this has to be paid for yourself and costs around 58 euros.

(fk) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.

Also read

: This island is only allowed to visit those who have already had the corona virus.

You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance

You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-11-25

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.