Swimming pool and restaurant in greenhouses

Since the Icesave-crisis of 2008 and the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, the number of tourists visiting Iceland has risen very sharply. The country has 330,000 inhabitants, last year more than 1.2 million international visitors were welcomed at the international airport of Keflavik. That enormous stream of tourists is posing challenges to the country, but in the fresh produce sector changes are also occurring due to this fast growth, it appears during a visit to Iceland.

The capital of Reykjavik seems to have changed into one large construction site, hotels and apartments are being thrown up. A partial explanation is that since the economic crisis after the Icesave-disaster of 2008, hardly any new houses had been built. Now that the economy is recovering, more investments are being made. Besides, more tourists are looking for accommodation in the capital. In the rest of the country, hotels are also being built. For example, at popular hot spot Geysir, construction of a new hotel is underway. With all the changes and challenges the country is going through to channel the flow of tourists, the fresh produce sector is profiting.

Traders are increasingly focusing on the catering industry. Growth is still possible in the food service sector. Two traders, however, chose to profit in their own way. In Fludir, the centre of the Icelandic greenhouse cultivation more than an hour outside of Reykjavik, a cultivator decided to convert his greenhouse. Behind his greenhouse is an open-air swimming pool with the illustrious name Secret Lagoon. The swimming pool, heated with water from the thermal sources from the surrounding area, was opened in 1891. During the following decades the swimming pool was popular with the local population, but midway through the twentieth century the pool fell into disrepair.

Due to the growing tourism the cultivator decided to bring new life to the pool. To that end a greenhouse was converted into a reception area with changing rooms and a small bar. From the greenhouse you step right out to the terrace, where the warm, steaming water stretches out in front of you. From the pool you have a view of the hot springs around the swimming pool. A small geyser provides a spectacular sight with some regularity. However, with fresh produce-eyes you also see the small plots of outdoor cultivation some ten metres away from the pool, and upon arrival your eyes are immediately drawn to the tomato greenhouse bordering on the parking lot. 

Closer to Reykjavik, in Selfoss, tomato cultivator Knutur saw a different gap in the market. Besides tomato cultivator he is a horse breeder. The horse shows he organises with his company Fridheimer were very popular with tourists, who also appeared to be interested in the tomato greenhouse. Until 2001 a greenhouse of nearly 1,200 m2 was in use. In the years up to 2006 this area was extended by 1,000 m2 for the illuminated cultivation of tomatoes. In 2011 another extension of the area followed, and a reception area for visitors was opened.

Right next to the tomato plants is a terrace, at the back of the greenhouse a spacious bar. The menu consists of dishes in which tomatoes have been processed. Tomato soup, tomato ice cream, tomato apple pie, tomato cheesecake and several tomato drinks. “During the first year we received 900 visitors in the greenhouse, this year we expect to receive 120,000 guests,” according to Knutur. He is not scared of tourists bringing diseases into the greenhouse. The largest risk is if people have also been inside another tomato greenhouse, he says. Besides regular tourists, well-known citizens of the world also know how to find the greenhouse. For example, Knutur welcomed Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian into the greenhouse once. 

The success of the opened tomato greenhouse is such that this branch of the company appears to become its main source of income. Trade in encore, piccolo and plum tomatoes in the greenhouse cannot compete with the money tourists spend on tomato products.