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Iceland is promoting its tap water as a luxury product, for good reason
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Stykkisholmur village in Western Iceland. (Shutterstock/Beketoff)
I
celand is asking tourists and visitors to "drink responsibly" in a campaign that markets the country's tap water as a premium, luxury product.
Unlike other countries, 98 percent of Icelandic tap water is chemically untreated. Tap water in Iceland comes from one of the nation's biggest natural assets -- pure glacial water filtered through lava for thousands of years.
Instead of drinking bottled water in Iceland, tourists are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle and drink what Iceland's tourism office says is one of the best tasting tap waters in the world.
The overall aim? To reduce plastic waste from single-use water bottles.
In a survey of 16,000 travelers in 11 markets across Europe and North America, 65 percent of respondents admitted to consuming more bottled water when abroad than at home. The biggest reason cited (70 percent) for this habit was fear that tap water abroad is unsafe to drink.
Read also: Tips for saving while traveling in Iceland
To promote the message, Iceland will be branding its tap water as a "luxury" beverage at select restaurants, bars and hotels. In partnership with The Environment Agency of Iceland, visitors will also be able to unlock a voucher equal to the money they would have spent on plastic water bottles, redeemable at select leisure and retail outlets in the country.
While the luxury tap water is a cheeky campaign with good intentions, the country's iconic outdoor geothermal spa, the Blue Lagoon, has successfully packaged and marketed its silica mud as a luxury skincare product.
