Iceland Guest is an information website for your travel to Iceland. On this site you can get all the tourist information you need for your vacation in Iceland. We hope that you will find this online travel guide useful in planning your holidays in Iceland.
About Iceland
Iceland is a refreshingly unconventional travel destination. The Icelandic nature is unspoilt, exotic and mystical with its spouting geysers, active volcanoes, tumbling waterfalls, towering mountains, vast lava plains and magical lakes. Iceland’s fjords, glaciers and highland plains present visitors with some of the most beautiful and enchanting places they will ever see, as well as a rare feeling of utter tranquillity.
For travelers on a quest for action, Iceland’s pristine nature offers great potential for outdoor activities such as snowmobiling, horse riding, cave exploring, hiking, swimming, skiing, river rafting, kayaking and mountain safaris on modified four-wheel drives, to name but a few. Iceland supports a surprisingly diverse Nordic flora and fauna and is an ideal place for ornithology enthusiasts, while also offering some of the world’s best whale watching destinations.
About Reykjavik
Reykjavík sometimes feels like a cosmopolitan capital and a tiny seaside village - all wrapped up in one. But Reykjavík has the best of both worlds; the qualities of a modern, forward-looking society complemented by a close connection to Iceland‚s beautiful and unspoilt nature.
Reykjavík’s legendary nightlife is bolstered by plentiful cultural and social happenings in addition to an abundance of first-class restaurants. The size of Reykjavik city centre is also limited enough to allow for easy navigation by foot. Reykjavík has been described as a young and daring city that is characterized by strong contrasts. Conveniently small, clean and safe, it is more or less free from the major problems that haunt many other capitals. Big city events are frequent, the winter lights festival finished recently with thousands of participants and more tourist at this time of the year than we are used to.
The Icelandic economy is slowly moving towards equilibrium with a contraction in national expenditure this year, but growth will nevertheless be positive due to a turnaround in foreign trade led by a surge in aluminium exports. The ISK exchange rate will be supported by strong buying side and continue to fluctuate within a relatively narrow range due to the considerable interest-rate differential between Iceland and abroad. This range will undoubtedly widen next year, however. Kaupthing believes that inflation will be around target in mid-2008 and that the current account deficit will persist.
In brief:
To download the "Economic outlook for Iceland - forecast 2007 to 2009" on acrobat click here.
About Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank offers comprehensive commercial and investment banking services to individuals, companies and institutional investors. The Bank is a leading player in all the main areas of the Icelandic financial market, and in addition to Iceland, the Bank's key markets are Denmark and the United Kingdom. The Bank focuses on the growth and development of its international activities and aims to be one of the leading investment banks in northern Europe.
Kaupthing Bank operates in ten countries with its headquarters located in Reykjavík. As of 31 December 2006 the number of full-time equivalent positions was 2,719 at Kaupthing Bank and its subsidiaries.
For further information on Kaupthing visit the bank's website, www.kaupthing.com.
About the Author
Asgeir Jonsson is the head of Research Division of Kaupthing Bank.
Contact info
Asgeir Jonsson
E-mail: asgeir.jonsson@kaupthing.com
Tel. +354 444 6957