Iceland’s Pools and Hot Tubs Are Now UNESCO-Recognized. Some Locals Aren’t Thrilled.

An icy wind was cutting across Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, just after 7 a.m. on a winter morning, still long before dawn. Puddles were frozen solid. Noses stung. It was, after all, minus 11 Celsius (about 12 Fahrenheit).

That’s cold, even in Iceland.

But there, under the open sky on the deck of the Vesturbaejarlaug public pool complex, some 20 people in bathing suits were doing jumping jacks in unison, their breath steaming as they counted and whooped, before dropping to the frozen ground for push-ups. There were a few lap swimmers. But these intrepid friends crowded into a hot tub, laughing as their sags and smile lines and surgery scars sank below the steam.

Other than me, there were no outsiders around — and certainly no tourists.

“That’s why we show up so early in the morning,” joked Ragna Thorhallsdottir, one swimmer, sipping a coffee after she had changed back into dry clothes. “We’re all by ourselves.”

A new honor brings new worries

Until recently, the 150 or so pools around Iceland had managed to stay mostly out of sight of the tourists who come by the millions, some flying nonstop even from regional U.S. airports like Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Nashville and Baltimore.

In fact, about two million visitors have come to Iceland each year since 2017, save for a dip during the peak years of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s a lot for a country of fewer than 400,000. Many tourists flock to the prime sights, like the glaciers and waterfalls, as well as the spalike lagoons, which are more rugged, luxurious and photogenic than the pools.

Now, some Icelanders worry that over-tourism could reach their pools, too. That’s because late last year, UNESCO honored the country’s pool culture as “intangible cultural heritage” — a designation given to about 850 traditions around the world, like baking baguettes in France, making canoes in Micronesia and playing reggae in Jamaica.