of the eruption ’ s impact on tourism : “ When it happened , my colleagues in the industry and I thought it was the end of it all – no more tourism . Although we felt like everyone hated us ( as the volcano grounded planes globally ), people turned their eyes to Iceland and realised that there ’ s something more here than they thought . From there tourism boomed .” Mathieu Tari , project manager of MICE at Iceland Travel , shared during a lava tube tour that , once Iceland ’ s tourism had hit full swing , tours to tubes and caves became incredibly popular – and oversubscribed . To protect the natural landscape , the decision was made to decrease the number of tourists but , following the Covid-19 pandemic , DMCs were looking to reintegrate these hotspots into MICE itineraries .

The pandemic was another moment where the tourism industry thought that it had seen its downfall , but once again demand only increased . This is largely due to it being one of the earliest locations to reopen to restless international travellers ( and arguably one of the safest ). By March 2021 , Reykjavík ’ s social life was back in full swing and active cases of Covid-19 were in the low double-digits . Harpa itself only closed for five weeks – a testament to the country ’ s quick response to the pandemic .

Having weathered two crises of a global scale , and its regular day-to-day life featuring eruptions and earthquakes , Iceland ’ s ability to pick itself up and dust itself off has its own mantra : Þetta Reddast ( thet-ta re-dahst ) – roughly meaning “ it ’ ll turn out alright in the end ”.

300km ( 186 miles ) for incentive groups but , as we saw , there ’ s plenty to do within 20 minutes of Reykjavík .

The very same day as the lava tunnel adventure saw my group zooming across the landscape in a super truck , wandering across a black sand beach to see a petrified troll , and exploring the steamy geothermal fields of Krýsuvík after commuting there in ATVs . The ATV guide informed us that , in his experience , the Krýsuvík pools are hot enough to hard-boil an egg – if you have 19 hours to spare . A different day included more adventuring through Iceland ’ s volcanic fields but this time from the back of an Icelandic horse .

Iceland also has its fair share of gentler incentive offerings , some of which might be more familiar to delegates with a habit of attending indoor events and city breaks . No trip to the island would be complete without a dunk in the lagoons , the most famous of which is probably the Blue Lagoon . There ’ s a young upstart on the geothermal spa scene however – the equally serene Sky Lagoon opened its waters in 2021 . At the Sky Lagoon , guests experience the incredibly relaxing seven-step ‘ Ritual ’ involving splashes in cold pools and short stays in the steam room and sauna . Whereas the Blue Lagoon lives up to the baby-blue photos and word-of-mouth legends and also

Above : Svanhildur Konradsdottir , director of Harpa

“ As a CO2- neutral building , Harpa uses Iceland ’ s power grid which is almost entirely made up of renewable hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources ”

offers a variety of meeting rooms , making it a convenient incentive offering .

In the heart of Reykjavik there ’ s plenty to do after a day experiencing a luxury gourmet tour of the city . Around every corner there ’ s a company offering puffin and whale watching tours – conveniently local to events taking place at Harpa . Arthursson explained that the range of incentives are “ all on the doorstep of the city … you don ’ t need to be here for 10 days .”

All our incentive guides spoke with pride and adoration for Iceland and her natural wonders . It was clear that Icelanders weren ’ t interested in manufacturing an ‘ Icelandic experience ’ for visitors . There was a true passion behind inviting visitors to see Iceland ’ s authenticity ; by sharing the country ’ s existing natural splendour and warm hospitality rather than creating it

Arthursson summarised the range of incentives that rely on Iceland ’ s dynamic nature : “ You can be snowmobiling over or inside a glacier ; snorkelling between tectonic plates ; watching geysers erupt ; bathe in the hot springs ; or swim in the ocean like the locals do .”

Reiterating that Iceland is a destination where visitors see the country authentically , Tari said that locals and guides “ want people to truly experience what Iceland has to offer .”

Swapping conferences for caving I discovered during the lava tunnel experience that there are caves like that all over the country , just waiting for adventurous tourists and incentive groups . Iceland is full of incentive options that move guests from indoor meeting rooms to the untouched wilderness . The famous ‘ Golden Circle ’ tour clocks in at a potentially unfeasible