Northeastern Region
Northeastern Region capitalizes on ecosystem services: Akureyri (19,542) anchors Iceland's whale watching hub with 100% summer sighting rates, while Húsavík became Europe's cetacean capital—all 24 Icelandic whale species spotted here.
The Northeastern Region exists because whales exist—and because Eyjafjörður's sheltered waters created Iceland's second city and its most reliable cetacean encounters. Spanning 21,968 km² with 32,026 residents (2025), Norðurland eystra centers on Akureyri (19,542 people), the 'capital of North Iceland' serving as service hub for the sparsely populated north. The region's tourism economy pivoted to whale watching: tours from Akureyri and Húsavík achieve 100% summer sighting rates for humpback, minke, and occasionally blue whales—all 24 cetacean species found in Icelandic waters have been spotted here, a claim no other region can make. North Sailing pioneered carbon-neutral whale watching in 2016, winning World Responsible Tourism Awards. Lake Mývatn's geothermal landscape and Europe's most powerful waterfall (Dettifoss) diversify beyond marine megafauna. Húsavík (2,229 residents) transformed from fishing village to 'whale watching capital of Europe,' hosting research stations and the Whale Museum. The region's challenge: seasonal tourism concentration creates boom-bust employment cycles, while climate-driven shifts in whale migration patterns could disrupt the ecosystem services that underpin the economy.