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 / Updated By Harriet Baskas 
 
 You’re not imagining it if it seems like everyone you know is either planning a trip to Iceland — or just got back. 
 
 The Nordic island nation — population 350,000 — has seen tourism numbers explode from under 500,000 in 2010 to more than 2.4 million tourists expected this year. 
 
 Iceland has stunning glaciers, waterfalls, volcanoes, lava fields, geothermal pools and geysers — and an erupting volcano, Eyjafjallajökull. Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson / ARCTIC IMAGES / Courtesy of Promote Iceland 
 
 Iceland’s stunning glaciers, waterfalls, volcanoes, lava fields, geothermal pools and geysers have always been there, of course. But it took global news coverage of the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, cameo TV and film roles for Iceland’s scenery, and some quirky tourism campaigns to really grab the world’s attention. 
 
 “At first it was crisis communications,” said Inga Hlin Palsdottir, Director of Visit Iceland and Creative Industries at Promote Iceland. “Our tourism industry was having difficult times after the 2008 recession and in 2010 things were just beginning to pick up. Then the volcano starting erupting right before the peak summer tourism season.” 
 
 Related: How President Trump Has Impacted Foreign Travel 
 
 Iceland’s tourism industry and the government banded together to try to save the summer season, eking out a tiny 0.1 percent increase that year. They continued to work together, with a focus on raising Iceland’s profile as a year-round destination and getting tourists to venture outside of the capital city of Reykjavik. 
 
 “Before Airbnb was even booming, we had locals invite tourists to their homes. Then we asked tourists to rename Iceland, because the country really doesn’t have that much ice,” said Palsdottir, “Now we have the Iceland Academy,” which is a series of short, offbeat videos on everything from “How to Eat Like an Icelander,” to the essential “How to Avoid Hot Tub Awkwardness.” 
 
 Now, music fans want to see where Björk, Of Monsters and Men, and Sigur Rós came from. TV and film aficionados want to see for themselves the Icelandic scenery that appears in hits such as HBO’s fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones,’ and the movie ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.’ 
 
 And going somewhere where there’s a great chance of seeing the Northern Lights is on the bucket list of almost every traveler. 
 
 Witnessing the Northern Lights is on most travelers' wish lists. Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson / ARCTIC IMAGES / Courtesy of Promote Iceland 
 
 Foreign and local tour operators have greatly expanded schedules and itineraries throughout Iceland and the inventory of hotel rooms and vacation rentals have grown. 
 
 For example, HomeAway’s listings in Iceland have grown by 68 percent in the past year, while demand for stays grew 81 percent, said HomeAway travel expert Melanie Fish. 
 
 Helping to fuel the influx of visitors from North America is the increase in air service to Iceland, especially by Wow Air and Icelandair, two Reykjavik-based airlines that route their flights through Iceland and offer passengers the option of an Iceland stopover for no additional airfare charge. 
 
 Wow Air flies to Iceland from these 10 North American cities, while Icelandair serves 13 U.S. airports (Philadelphia services starts May 30; Tampa services kicks off September 7) and five in Canada. 
 
 “Who doesn’t love a two-for-one deal?” said Pauline Frommer, Editorial Director of Frommer’s guidebooks and Frommers.com. “Most travelers are jazzed by the idea of getting to see an additional destination on their way to Europe — and one that is hugely popular right now.” 
 
 That was the appeal for Kenneth Swanstrom, a 59-year old logging contractor from Kalispell, Montana, who was heading to Europe earlier this month for a first-time visit. 
 
 “Germany was the reason for my travel in the first place,” he said. “But I also wanted to see Iceland and I really liked the stopover option on Icelandair. I’ll definitely do it again.” 
 
 Icelandair, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, has been promoting its stopover option since perhaps the early 1950s or mid-60s, said airline spokesman Michael Raucheisen. “We’ve always encouraged passengers to come experience Iceland for a few days, fall in love with it and come back for a full trip. And that model has worked well over the years.” 
 
 For passengers who don’t choose to stopover, Icelandair has two planes offering flyers a taste — or a tease — of the Iceland experience. The carrier’s Northern Lights-themed plane was introduced in 2015, and earlier this month the airline launched a glacier-themed plane (named for Iceland’s Vatnajökull glacier) that has images of the glacier hand painted on the exterior and, inside, ice-blue lighting and headrests, cups, napkins, lavatory décor and even airsickness bags with a glacier motif. ||||| Iceland — a land of glaciers, snow, and reindeer — is so hot right now. 
 
 Among young professionals, the sparsely populated European country has suddenly become some sort of exotic pilgrimage: Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with oversaturated images of fjords, colorful villages, and ice melt waterfalls. The country has been touted as an up-and-coming, must-see destination by a multitude of outlets, from Lonely Planet to National Geographic. 
 
 In 1949 — the year the Icelandic Tourist Board began tracking foreign travelers — a paltry 5,312 people came to visit. By 1996, just 200,000 tourists from around the globe were coming to Iceland annually. As recently as 2010, the number of visitors was actually decreasing. Then around 2011, things went bonkers: 
 
 So far this year, a whopping 1.61 million people have journeyed to Iceland — more than triple the figure from 2010. That number is expected to near 2 million by the new year. 
 
 What the heck is going on here? How did Iceland become the vacation destination du jour? Well, to start, it has a lot to do with Americans. 
 
 American tourists now outnumber Iceland’s population 
 
 In 2003, Iceland began tracking where its tourists were coming from — and according to that data, the largest portion hails from the United States. 
 
 Around 325,000 Americans have visited Iceland in 2016, compared with 51,000 in 2010. That’s a sixfold increase. Currently, Iceland’s population is 332,000 — so this year will mark the first time in history that American tourists to Iceland will outnumber Iceland’s population (represented by the dotted line below). 
 
 Beyond the Americans who actually book trips to Iceland, hundreds of thousands more seem to be lurking in the shadows, contemplating a future trip. 
 
 In a recent report, Kayak compiled and analyzed millions of travel-related searches. It found that between 2015 and 2016, there was a 65 percent increase in searches for Iceland hotels and flights. Much of this interest surrounds New Year’s vacations. 
 
 During winter in Iceland, the sun rises at 11:30 am and sets at 3:30 pm. That’s four hours of daylight. Temperatures hover around the mid-20s, and it rains, on average, two out of every three days. For most people, that doesn’t exactly sound like vacation material. 
 
 So what is accounting for this recent burst in interest? 
 
 It began with a volcanic eruption 
 
 In April 2010, a volcano named Eyjafjallajökull erupted in southern Iceland, causing a weeklong shutdown of the European air industry. It made international headlines for weeks. 
 
 At the time, Iceland’s tourism industry was flailing, and the country’s economy was still in a post-2008 recession slump. But Iceland’s tourist board had a genius idea: For once, the country was in the spotlight — why not seize the occasion as an opportunity to attract tourists? 
 
 In the following months, Iceland released a series of videos — “Inspired by Iceland” — featuring dancing, singing, glaciers, fjords, and naked women in hot springs. The campaign was pushed out hard on social media. 
 
 The chart below shows that this campaign fell right at the point at which tourism shot up in Iceland. 
 
 While interest in Iceland was sparked by the volcano and ensuing PR campaign, a concerted effort to boost tourism infrastructure sustained it. 
 
 Between 2010 and 2014, registered tour operators in the country increased from around 175 to 776. Aided by technology, Airbnb and Vrbo rentals sprang up in downtown Reykjavik. 
 
 But most importantly, flights became a whole lot cheaper. 
 
 How a budget airline made Iceland a tourist destination 
 
 Iceland’s sustained growth since 2010 can be summarized in three letters: WOW. 
 
 Prior to 2012, flights to Iceland could cost as much as $1,500 in peak season. And carriers’ availability was select: Icelandair, the most popular airline running trans-Atlantic Iceland flights, only operated in six major US hubs. 
 
 In 2012, Iceland-based WOW Air began offering extremely cheap flights from Europe to Iceland, and in 2015 it expanded to North America. As of writing this article, the average flight to Iceland is now 26 percent cheaper than the median airfare to other major tourist destinations. January flights to Iceland can be booked for as low as $380. 
 
 Looking at the tourism growth graphs earlier in the article, WOW’s expansion to the US had a tremendous impact: Between 2014 and 2015, the number of Americans traveling to Iceland increased from 152,000 to 242,000 — a 37 percent jump. 
 
 Founded in 1944, Icelandair has also had a considerable impact on tourism. The airline’s free stopover offer and “Stopover Buddy” marketing stunts have helped it retain its throne as Iceland’s most popular airline. 
 
 But according to industry experts, cheap airfare is only one part of the equation. 
 
 Iceland is a safe alternative to European “turmoil” 
 
 Bjorg Gudjons, an agent at Nordika Travel, attributes some of Iceland’s newfound popularity to its reputation as a safe destination. 
 
 “What we’re seeing in the industry is that fear [due to terror attacks] has deflected travelers from other European countries,” she says. “Iceland is one of safest countries in the world.” 
 
 According to the Global Peace Index, Iceland is literally the safest country in the world, and has been for many years. (The United States, by contrast, sits 103rd out of 163 ranked countries.) 
 
 It is plausible that Americans, scared off by semi-recent terror attacks in Paris and Brussels and the bad press surrounding Brexit, are flocking to Iceland as an alternate European destination. While Iceland tourism continues to trend upward, North American tourism elsewhere in Europe has declined. 
 
 Iceland is the perfect destination for the Instagram generation 
 
 David Solomito, vice president of marketing at Kayak, says Iceland’s recent popularity could also be partly due to social media. 
 
 “It’s not too far (from Boston or New York, it’s a quick flight) — but when you’re there, it feels like you’re on a different planet,” he says. “People see pictures on social media and think it’s on Mars. It feels out of this world. It has that Instagram factor.” 
 
 The impact of Instagram on travel trends is well-documented — and the so-called “Instagram generation” is a case study in envy. The desire to post photos from unfamiliar lands that are still within reach might be driving travelers to explore Iceland as a travel destination. 
 
 Given the cheap flights, the virtual promise of safety (aside from exploding volcanoes), and scenes like the one above, it’s possible that Iceland’s astronomical rise in tourism has just begun. ||||| Iceland is booming. The northern island nation is quickly becoming one of the hottest European destinations for Americans going abroad. 
 
 In fact, American travelers are the largest source of tourism in Iceland, and it's projected that nearly 325,000 of them have already visited in 2016, according to Vox. It's expected that by the end of the year, more Americans will visit than there are people living in Iceland (the population is about 331,000). 
 
 It's a big increase from 2010, when just 51,000 Americans visited the country. American interest in traveling to Iceland has increased 65% over the last year, Kayak.com told Vox. 
 
 That's a lot of attention for a place that is extremely cold in the winter and only gets about four hours of daylight much of the year. There are, however, five reasons that could explain the explosion in tourism from 2010 to 2016, and the biggest one involves a natural disaster. 
 
 1. What volcano? 
 
 The 2010 eruption of volcano Eyjafjallajökull attracted worldwide attention by halting much of Europe's air traffic for an entire week. Iceland's tourism board capitalized on this attention by releasing a PR blitz campaign highlighting the natural beauty of Iceland and putting it in the minds of would-be travelers, according to Vox. That marketing campaign appears to have paid off. 
 
 2. Cheap flights 
 
 But that wouldn't have been enough on its own to bring in so many Americans. The logistics of flying to Iceland also check out. It's a pretty short flight (around 5-6 hours) from the population-dense East Coast — shorter than most would expect it to take to fly to Europe. And more importantly, budget airlines like WOW Air are offering inexpensive flights. A trip to Iceland is 26% cheaper than other European destinations, according to Kayak.com. 
 
 This summer, WOW Air announced a set of flights from Los Angeles to Keflavik International Airport for just $99. Predictably, those sold out pretty quickly. 
 
 3. More places to stay 
 
 Iceland's popularity is peaking at the same time that services like Airbnb are making travel easier than ever. In addition, Iceland is seeing a major hotel boom in its major cities, and more major luxury brands arriving soon, according to Travel Pulse. Iceland saw a 36% increase in hotel stays from 2014 to 2015. 
 
 4. Iceland on TV 
 
 Iceland's natural beauty has also attracted American media producers, introducing the country to a bevy of TV watchers who otherwise don't pay attention to travel trends. For the sixth season of ABC's "The Bachelorette" in 2010, producers decided to set an episode in Iceland, no doubt contributing to the massive increase of tourism to the country. 
 
 5. Iceland is relatively safe and stable 
 
 Iceland is shielded from many of the economic and terrorism issues that are troubling mainland Europe. While tourism is declining in many parts of Europe, the trendiness of Iceland makes it a bit of an outlier, notes Vox. It's like going to Europe without really dealing with the problems plaguing the continent.
– Some 2.3 million Earthlings who are not Icelandic will trek through Iceland this year, armed with selfie sticks in search of the island's breathtaking fjords, waterfalls, volcanoes, and Game of Thrones backdrops. That's nearly five times the foot traffic Iceland saw seven years ago and it's worth $3.4 billion and one out of every three jobs. But that boon for Iceland's economy comes with a serious drawback, writes Laura Mallonee at Wired, as tourists trample over aforementioned natural beauty, infrastructures groan, and yes, sewers overflow. "Uncontrolled tourism does have negative impacts on the environment," a tourism professors says. "So if tourism is not planned and managed properly we will see some of the natural attractions be damaged." "Nice experience," reads a typical Trip Advisor review, "but there should be less people." It's a problem that Iceland has worked hard for: The Iceland Monitor points out that there's now a guidebook in English that instructs tourists on how to act (hint: don't stick your hand in a geyser to see if it's scalding), while NBC News notes that Visit Iceland put together the "Iceland Academy," which gives visitors tips on gems like "How to Avoid Hot Tub Awkwardness." Add in cheap airfares, and the fact that, as a Frommer's rep puts it, "most travelers are jazzed by the idea of getting to see an additional destination on their way to Europe," and you've got yourself a hot spot. Mallonee cites one French photog who sought to document the tourist clog. The problem, she writes, "is that even as (his work) offers a commentary on all those damned tourists, his photos often look like tourism bureau ads." (Whatever you do, don't sneak your cat into Iceland.)