A final day in Ilulissat
This morning I checked out of my hotel in Ilulissat at 9:30AM. This would be my final day in Ilulissat, and it left me with a bittersweet feeling. On the one hand, I was reluctant to leave this beautiful place - the land of the Big Ice. On the other hand, I look forward to the week to come in Nuuk. I’m not done with Greenland yet!
My flight back to Nuuk was scheduled for 6:30PM, so I had some time to pass between checkout and heading to the airport. I put my luggage in the hotel luggage room and set off for the ILLU Science and Art Hub for more Ilulissat Science Forum events.
The morning session was about “Climate and Ecosystem Changes” and featured talks from a local hunter, a Greenlandic scientist who specializes in the dynamics of the icefiord ecosystem, and a climate scientist from the Danish Meterological Institute. A panel discussion followed the presentations, which was moderated by Twila Moon, the Principal Investigator for the QGreenland-Net project that I work on and ultimately brought me to Greenland.
After this morning session, we had a 1.5 hours lunch break that I used to visit the Ilulissat art museum. Although small, I really enjoyed spending the lunch break viewing artwork from Emanuel A. Petersen and others before returning to ILLU.
The afternoon session at ILLU was focused on responsible tourism in Greenland, which I felt was a good way to cap off my week of tourism! The session included discussion about the changing nature of tourism in Ilulissat, which has shifted from relatively small numbers of tourists who had many opportunities for 1:1 interactions with local tour guides to the mass tourism of today in which thousands of tourists overwhelm the capacity of local guides, requiring new infrastructure (e.g., hotels) and tourism opportunities (large companies that hire temporary seasonal workers who only live in Ilulissat for a few months a year). I learned that some 60k tourists visit Ilulissat each year, and the number is expected to grow substantially (upwards of 100k) within the next few years. Indeed, a new international airport is expected to open in Ilulissat in October of 2026, which will facilitate this boom in tourism. Remember - only about 5k people live in Ilulissat (and 3k sled dogs)!
Once the afternoon session wrapped up, it was about time for me to head to the airport and then back to Nuuk. The sun was setting on my Ilulissat adeventure.
Thankfully, my flight departed on time and without any issues! I arrived in Nuuk just after 8PM, checked into my hotel, and immediately went out for a late dinner at a nearby Thai restaruant.
I do not currently have any specific plans for tomorrow. Starting Monday, I will begin attending Greenland Science Week events on behalf of the QGreenland-Net project. I look forward to meeting other scientists and Greenlanders over the next several days as I engage with them about QGreenland and science in Greenland.