Ittoqqortoormiit, Sermersooq, Greenland

🇬🇱 Ittoqqortoormiit, formerly known as Scoresbysund, is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in eastern Greenland. It has been described as one of the most remote settlements on earth.

The former name Scoresbysund derives from the English Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby, who was the first European to map the area in 1822. The name "Ittoqqortoormiit" means "Big-House Dwellers" in the Eastern Greenlandic dialect. The region is known for its wildlife, including polar bears, muskoxen, and seals.

Economy Local hunters have made a living from whale and polar bear hunting for generations, and it remains, up to the present, a significant cultural-economical factor in the area. Meat and by-products play a direct part in the economy of the hunting families. Income is gained by trading these products, but these options are seasonal and variable.

Ittoqqortoormiit lies near large populations of shrimp and Greenland halibut, but the presence of sea ice prevents the exploitation of these resources year-round, and as a result fishing has never been extensively developed in the municipality.

Tourism, on the other hand, is growing in importance because it is of interest to researchers and extreme Arctic expeditions on land and by sea. Ittoqqortoormiit is the closest town in Greenland from Iceland and its ecosystem, hunting culture and remoteness are of interest to a growing number of travelers primarily from Europe. A local company, Nanu Travel, owns the only guest house in the settlement and arranges tours and expedition logistics for visitors. The Guest House was featured in the hotels.com #RemoteAF campaign in 2018 and because of its status as the one of the most remote hotels on earth. The buildings at the abandoned Uunarteq settlement, also known as Kap Tobin, are used by the local inhabitants as cottages all year.