Bucharest vs Reykjavík

Reykjavík leads Bucharest by 1 points on the TRAIL Index, 70 to 69. Bucharest grades better on 10 measures, Reykjavík on 13; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• TRAIL Index: Bucharest 69, Reykjavík 70
• OECD: Bucharest 68, Reykjavík 69
• UN Tourism: Bucharest 73, Reykjavík 63
• UNDRR: Bucharest 59, Reykjavík 82

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Bucharest 60, Reykjavík 63
• Economy and jobs: Bucharest 92, Reykjavík 92
• Climate and hazards: Bucharest 60, Reykjavík 80
• Water and environment: Bucharest 75, Reykjavík 50
• Community and housing: Bucharest 83, Reykjavík 56
• Access and continuity: Bucharest 63, Reykjavík 88

Where Bucharest is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 32.6 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). Between 30 and 35: grade 3/4.
• Domestic share of nights: 36.1 % of nights by residents of the same country (Direcția Regională de Statistică a Municipiului București (DRS-București / INSSE), Activitatea turistică în Municipiul București (trimestrul III 2025), Q3 2025). Between 35 and 45: grade 3/4.
• Largest foreign market: 10.1 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (Institutul Național de Statistică (INS) / Ministerul Economiei, Digitalizării, Antreprenoriatului și Turismului / Revista Afacerea, 2024). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Jobs in tourism industries: 4.1 % of employment in accommodation and food services (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). At or below 8: grade 4/4.
• Flood hazard: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 98.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (region figure) (Institutul Național de Statistică (INSSE), 2025). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 305 kg per resident per year (country figure) (Eurostat, 2023). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
• Tourism intensity: 2 visitor nights per resident per year (Institutul Național de Statistică (INS) / DRSM București, 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Short-let density: 0.5 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (AirDNA & Institutul Național de Statistică (INSSE), 2024–2026). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Wikipedia / Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Romania, 2025). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.

Where Reykjavík is stronger

• Average length of stay: 6.5 nights per visitor (country figure) (Ferðamálastofa (Icelandic Tourist Board) / Statistics Iceland, 'Tourism in Iceland in Figures - FMS 2024-41', Dec 2023–Nov 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 77 % average annual occupancy (City of Reykjavík (Reykjavíkurborg), 2023). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Income per head: 83,431 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 0 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Tropical nights: 0 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Country disaster risk: 1.6 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). At or below 2: grade 4/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Green space: 36 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI), 2023). Between 30 and 40: grade 3/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated, tested plan that names visitors and tourism operators, with warnings in several languages (Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (Almannavarnir) & Safetravel Iceland, 2024–2026). Grade 4/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan tested in an exercise or a real event, with lessons published (Tourism Cases / CABI & Iceland Review / Almannavarnir, 2023–2024). Grade 4/4.
• Government effectiveness: 92.9 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4.
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (Icelandic Tourist Board (Ferðamálastofa) / Ministry of Culture and Business Affairs, 2024–2026). Grade 3/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Romania: #43 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Iceland: #34 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Bucharest in full · Reykjavík in full

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