Great development in tourism in Tasiilaq – tourism business reports great growth

– I do not yet have exact figures on the growth of our tourism company in Tasiilaq in 2025. But it seems that we have had growth of over 30 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, says director and owner of Arctic Dreams in Tasiilaq, Lars Anker-Møller to Sermitsiaq.

The tourist season continued for several months.

“It was absolutely crazy, and the tourist season broke all previous limits. It continued into October, November and December. So it meant a lot to us that Air Iceland stopped flying to Kulusuk on October 1. The season usually ends at the end of September,” he adds.

One of the reasons for the growth is the greater focus on Greenland worldwide. This is taken advantage of by tourists who travel via Iceland.

– Another reason is that we have much better boats to navigate the waters of East Greenland. This means that we can extend the season.

Problems with flight

The success has been realized despite the fact that it has been difficult with the flights.

– Normally we have lived with the uncertainty about the flight service to Kulusuk, but this year we have also had uncertainty about the flight service to Nuuk. It has been uphill in relation to our customers, who have been delayed or prevented from getting through, he says and adds:

– We therefore look forward to it becoming safer to fly to Nuuk, and that we can get more tourists that way.

However, the helicopter between Kulusuk and Tasiilaq is often challenged by weather, so it is often canceled. Therefore, there is a political desire to move the airport from Kulusuk to Tasiilaq.

– Of course, this will have a major impact on Kulusuk as a settlement and its development.

– But an airport in Tasiilaq will mean that all settlements will be closer and an uncertain link will be removed by the plane landing in Tasiilaq directly, says Lars Anker-Møller.

Development opportunities

Lars Anker-Møller sees many opportunities for development. He believes that there are especially many untapped opportunities in Kulusuk.

He has lived in Kummiut for three years and knows the village well.

Here too, there are many untapped opportunities, he believes.

With his 25 years in the area, he has built up a very large network, which he uses to develop his business and which creates new income opportunities for the local population both in winter and summer.

Arctic Dream also develops its own products for tourists.

– We follow both trends within tourism, which are manifested, among other things, in increased interest in nature and ecology. But we also follow the political wishes for the development of tourism, both in the self-government and in the municipality, he explains.

– We would like to support them. We need to create local jobs, that is a high priority for us.

But it takes longer to build a new product with training guides and planning and logistics.

– That is why we are constantly working to keep up with and fulfill tourists' wishes and follow the trend. Among other things, by supporting the newly trained mountain leaders for new products with long and short hikes in both summer and winter.

– We must constantly develop with new products and follow the trend in the world so that we are competitive within this segment of tourism.

– For example, in 2026 we have started a new ten-day hike, where we ensure that the camp moves with the hike, and that the kitchen tent is always up when the hikers arrive, so that tea and coffee are ready. This requires logistics, and that we move luggage and camp every day, he explains.

Exciting 2026

What does 2026 look like?

– Winter tourism is largely sold out. We have set up several new tours, including in Kulusuk, and they sold out almost immediately.

– Unlike the West Coast, we have long sleigh rides over several days, where tourists stay overnight in cabins. For example, we have a five-day trip where we drive from cabin to cabin with local guides.

– We have had challenges with the language. But we ensure that expectations are aligned with what the tourists encounter. You can get a long way with a smile and sign language, but with more and more young sled drivers, there are more who can speak English. The feedback we get is very good. The tourists are very happy to have been on a trip with locals and to get to know them and their culture, says Lars Anker-Møller.

Increased local employment

The development of Arctic Dream with many more tourists and the use of local people is thus a direct follow-up to political wishes for the development of local tourism.

Arctic Dream has further developed the tours that foreign operators with foreign guides have so far provided.

Now it is local guides and local companies who help Arctic Dream with logistics and guiding the tourists.

The effort means that small local companies have been started in the settlements that service tourists, and which Arctic Dream uses for its tourists.

On the sledge trips, there is a guide and two tourists on each sledge. And there is a requirement of 12-14 dogs per sledge.

Also in the summer, Arctic Dream uses its local network to transport passengers and luggage and to guide tourists.

A large part of the sailing on the East Coast in the summer is charter sailing, where tourists and luggage are sailed from A to B.

– We don't yet know what summer tourism and the autumn of 2026 will be like. Our tours are sold by travel agents all over the world. Most of the sales take place in March, April and May, he says.

In 2025, Arctic Dream employed 19 permanent employees to take care of tourists in both winter, summer and autumn.

Winter tourism uses local trappers, who earn extra money by transporting tourists on sleds.

Arctic Dreams won the Greenland Tourist Award in 2019 and was nominated for this honor in 2023 and 2024.

Arctic Dreams won the Greenland Business Enterprise Entrepreneurship Award in 2016.