Greenland is a drug!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/09/2008 (6467 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Greenland, and really enjoy working with their travel industry; however, each year (for the past twenty or so) I have become enthused by their delegates to the annual Vestnorden Travel Mart (concluded this week in Reykjavik) only to find that they leave or the industry really does not want to play.A good case is Air Greenland. For many years this “flag carrier” has been almost impossible to work with. Their flight schedules are “on again / off again”, their pricing system cumbersome, their support for tour operators non-existent in practice but strong in theory.And like a junkie, each year I believe them, and head back to sell their products with the same sense of euphoria.This year, I hope, it is different.Air Greenland have a new CEO, Michael Binzer who I have known for many years. Perhaps the fact that his wife is from Iqaluit offers hope that we may again have a connection to the island from Canada! Their CFO and Director of Sales are new, and both bright, enthusiastic and very, very aware of the world around them. They are interested in pursuing a broader distribution of their programs, and looking at new routes. Perhaps even offering 30 seats twice-weekly between Iqaluit and Nuuk.This would be great.There appear now to be four flights during the summer from Iceland to Greenland, avoiding the long-haul over to Copenhagen and back, and assuming that their schedules are well coordinated and the pricing reflects market demand, 2009 looks very good for travel to one of the world’s last frontier destination.If you are interested in the phenomenon of climate change and its concurrent effects on Arctic communities, Greenland is the place to go and see for yourself; and now, 2009 looks like the best time to go.