How Iceland Can Save Their Tourism Sector

A decade after their legendary financial crisis and its aftermath, it seems that Iceland is in trouble again despite their miraculous recovery.  This time around, it is their tourism sector (which in fact was key to their recovery) that seems to be suffering now, cooling fast following a decade of explosive growth.  Banks, of course, seem to have learned their lesson after the banksters that caused the crisis were jailed rather than bailed out like in the USA.

The reasons for the decline in tourism are not entirely clear, but since tourism is such a large chunk of Iceland's economy, a large and sustained decline has the potential to be a serious problem in the long run.  So it would really behoove them to face this problem head-on before things deteriorate any further.

Two things immediately come to mind as potential solutions to reverse or at least slow the decline in tourism:  1) lower the drinking age to 18 (it is currently 20), and 2) abolish their youth curfew law, or at least stop enforcing it.  And 3) legalize weed as well for everyone over 18.  Problem solved.  Next.

As for their alcohol tax, since they have the most expensive alcohol in the world (at least double the price it is in the USA), they might want to cut it a bit for on-premise sales while perhaps hiking it for off-premise sales, as they are way on the "wrong" side of the Laffer curve, and are very prone to "pregaming" before going out to the bar.  Of course, cutting the alcohol tax too much would lead to adverse effects from an increase in excessive drinking (just look at the USA, for example), but there does seem to be such a thing as too high--and they are already there now.

Skal!