Is Trump's interest in Greenland driving unprecedented tourist influx?

Greenland's glittering blue icebergs, says his bank has told him to expand ahead of an expected influx of tourists after US President Donald Trump put the island in the global spotlight.

Trump's comments, coupled with the opening of a new international airport in the capital Nuuk, have already boosted arrivals and more are expected.

«Already now, we are getting many more bookings than we have received earlier, especially because of a man with the last name of Trump. He has really put Greenland on the map once again,» Knudsen-Ostermann, operator of Greenland Cruises, said, standing on the dock of an ice-packed harbour.

Greenland became the focus of international attention in January when Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived at the newly opened Nuuk airport.

Since then, the U.S. president has doubled down on his pledge to make the Arctic island part of the United States, as he eyes its vast wealth of rare earth minerals critical for high-tech industries.

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Greenland is hoping new airports will bolster its tourism and mining industries to diversify the economy, which is currently reliant on fishing for 95% of its exports.

The country's vast ice sheet, glaciers, deep fjords and abundance of marine life, including whales, are the key attractions, while pride in the local Inuit culture is also growing.

The opening of the airport in Nuuk in November last year has made travel to the island easier. United Airlines is set to begin direct flights from New York to Nuuk in June, replacing the previous route which required tourists to fly via Copenhagen and transit at the former U.S. military base Kangerlussuaq.

Ilulissat, Greenland's main tourist hub known for its UNESCO-listed ice fjord, is also due to open a