{"id":153315,"date":"2026-08-26T17:22:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/153315\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T17:22:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:22:02","slug":"greenland-urges-cruise-ships-to-limit-visits-to-its-fjords-after-noise-and-wildlife-concerns-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/153315\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenland urges cruise ships to limit visits to its fjords after noise and wildlife concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Cruise ship companies;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/cruise-ships\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Cruise ship companies<\/a> are being urged by <a data-ylk=\"slk:Greenland;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/greenland\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Greenland<\/a> to limit sailings through fjords after concerns about excess noise and the impact on wildlife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Naalakkersuisut, the Greenland government, <a data-ylk=\"slk:said;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/naalakkersuisut.gl\/Nyheder\/2026\/08\/1108_Umiarsuarnit?sc_lang=da\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> earlier this month that the vessels are burdening the local population and affecting natural areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Greenlandic fjords, large valleys filled with ocean water, attract cruises due to their striking glacial landscapes. They are home to whales, Arctic foxes, musk oxes and human coastal settlements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The government has urged cruises to &#8220;avoid or limit&#8221; sailings within fjord areas as much as possible to reduce the pressure that huge ships are having on the area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Alongside sending its plea to cruise companies and ship captains, Greenland said it is developing zoning restrictions in accordance with its Tourism Act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The zoning will delineate areas open to cruise ships those that are subject to restrictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Greenland&#8217;s tourism sector continues to expand every year. The number of tourists visiting the country totalled almost 180,000 in 2025, an eight per cent increase from 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, cruise visitor statistics have fluctuated, possibly due to the increase in air passengers due to the opening of the new international airport in Nuuk in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In 2025, a total of 93,897 cruise passengers were registered in Greenland, compared to 95,185 in 2024, showing a slight decrease of 1.4 per cent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Its largest market is the United States, making up over half of cruise passengers in 2025, followed by Germany, then the UK.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The government said it views the growing interest in Greenland as &#8220;positive&#8221; and recognises the contribution cruise tourism makes to activity and revenue in local communities, supporting employment and business development in cities and settlements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, it said it has announced plans to limit cruises in fjord areas due to its commitment that &#8220;tourism development takes place on a sustainable basis and with respect for the local population, nature and wildlife.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Responsible tourism development requires that an appropriate balance is maintained between commercial interests and the protection of Greenland&#8217;s natural and cultural values,&#8221; the government said in its statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The cruise restriction zones are being planned in collaboration with local communities, businesses and other stakeholders, and will come into force after the consultation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read more: <a data-ylk=\"slk:Royal Caribbean has cancelled several of its planned cruises \u2013 here&#039;s what to know;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/travel\/news-and-advice\/royal-caribbean-cancels-cruises-b3037036.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Caribbean has cancelled several of its planned cruises \u2013 here&#8217;s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cruise ship companies are being urged by Greenland to limit sailings through fjords after concerns about excess noise&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[1357,72211,72212,57,72213],"class_list":["post-153315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-greenland","tag-cruise","tag-cruise-passengers","tag-fjord-areas","tag-greenland","tag-ship-captains"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/117162970063047243","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}