For Greenland tourism, Trump's interest creates uncertainty

When American President Donald Trump revived his desire to acquire Greenland for the United States early in his second term, it initially came as a boon to Mr Casper Frank Moller and his co-founders at Raw Arctic.

- Lisa Abend

(SIGGA ELA/ NYTIMES)

The three Greenlanders had begun their adventure tour company in mid-2024 and discovered that it benefited from the global focus on their home territory: Curious travellers flocked to book tours.

The demand was so great that the men had to buy additional boats and hire more workers to meet the growing interest in their fly-fishing trips and whale safaris.

The year 2026, with Mr Trump threatening to acquire the island, is different. Mr Moller said: "Last year, there was a lot of talk, but it came with a positive side effect of putting Greenland on the map as a destination."

Now, Greenland is associated with "the potential disturbance of the current world order", he added.

"We're getting a lot of questions about whether it's a safe travel destination."

Tourism in Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, has been rising steadily for years.

The increase is a result of several factors: Greenland's efforts to diversify its economy, melting ice that has opened once-inaccessible ports to cruise ships and a fascination with the Arctic in popular culture.

In 2025, 44 per cent of Greenland's tourism businesses reported an increase in high-season bookings over the previous year, according to a recently published survey from the tourism board.

The board concluded that, with some improvements in infrastructure, the 2026 season could be "significantly better" yet.

Those expectations are fuelled, in part, by major investments in Greenland's connections to the rest of the world.