Formula 1 races are generally sold on the basis that they will boost the economy of a region. They are expensive, but they normally generate enough business to make the locals happy with the results. Iceland, however, has stumbled on a new way to attract tourists, which costs very little in comparison to F1. The volcanic eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in the spring caused utter mayhem for the world’s travellers, not least the F1 circus which was in China when the volcano went up. This has resulted in an impressive 16 percent increase in tourism from North America to the island nation for the first 11 months of 2010, versus the same period last year. According to the locals ever since the eruption died down there have been tourists pouring in to have a look at the mess that was caused. The eruption and the ensuing chaos gave Iceland the kind of publicity that many cities would die for, at least in terms of the numbers involved. The Icelandics hope that this is a trend that is only just beginning and hope that visitors will increase by another 20% in 2011, as Delta has decided to cash in on the demand and launch a flight to Iceland.
Joe
I’m glad you point this out after Putin’s signed up for a Russian GP, just in case you gave him any ideas!
Why not combine the two? A Grand Prix round a volcano! Everyone’s a winner…
Better remember to change to the special lava-proof tyres though
Eyjafjallajokull is the glacier, Guonasteinn is the volcano.
Eyjafjoll means mountains and the ‘jokull’ part means glacier, so Eyjafjallajokull is just the glacier on the mountains.
Or so I was told by the Icelandic guide
Can we expect Bernie to buy a few volcanoes and start working on technology that makes them erupt at 2pm on a Sunday. Or they could erupt at night because that would be more spectacular.
I hope he doesn’t get Tilke to desging him a volcano. That would be a damp squib.
Robert, it’s a shame Bridgestone left, I’m sure their tires would still last the whole race even if there was lava on the track
A gp would be too tame for these guys, follow the link and you’ll see why
Publicity to die for? They’ve ripped that idea off from the Pompeii Chamber of Commerce…
And now the Ukraine wants one too.
[...] Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/who-needs-a-grand-prix/ [...]