Icelanders get online for an invitiation to visit Iceland

Tomorrow, Thursday 3 June, Icelanders will gather together online to show the world their country is open for business, open for excitement and hoping to inspire the world. Backed by the Government of Iceland, the 320,000 inhabitants of the world's most northern nation will go online and send messages to friends around the globe about what they like most about Iceland. This event, called Iceland Hour, will take place on 3 June for one hour, at 1300-1400 GMT.

The number of visitors to Iceland has dropped since the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano and the marketing campaign ‘Inspired By Iceland' is intended to help kick-start the Icelandic tourism summer and to inspire people from around Europe to visit this magnificent country. The Iceland Hour is a part of this campaign.

The Iceland hour is not just for Icelanders – it is open to people from around the world who can simply go to www.inspiredbyiceland.com and leave a message on how Iceland was an inspiration to them, whether that was scenery, music, sport or wildlife. There are also a number of social networks that people can view and join: www.facebook.com/inspiredbyiceland, www.twitter.com/inspiredbyiceland where information and news on Iceland will constantly be available and updated.

Katrín Júlíusdóttir, Minister of Industry and Tourism, commented, "We believe Iceland is a country that can inspire everyone who comes here. The stunning geography and wonderful scenery, the warmth and kindness of the people, the unique culture and accessibility of Iceland all go towards making our country a great place to visit. We want the world to know that."

A live webcast in English during the Iceland hour will be shown on www.inspiredbyiceland.com .

The Inspired by Iceland campaign will feature other events in the coming weeks and information will be sent to all media as soon as they are confirmed.