Icelandic tour operator Arctic Adventures has acquired Icelandic tour company Into The Glacier, adding the world’s largest man-made ice cave to its growing number of attractions.

The move represents a considerable increase on the overall number of tours which Arctic Adventures oversees in Iceland on a yearly basis. The tour operator, one of Iceland’s largest, currently welcomes about a quarter of a million guests per year. The deal to add Into The Glacier (63,000 yearly guests) to ‘the Arctic Family’ will boost this number by over 25%.

Arctic Adventures currently has 260 employees on its books, and the new procurement will add an additional 45 to that head count. This growing workforce will be needed, as it is predicted that 2.2 million tourists will visit Iceland in 2019.

The past year has represented a significant period of growth for Arctic Adventures, having merged with fellow Icelandic tour operator Extreme Iceland and, more recently, set up an office in Vilnius (Lithuania) where it plans to hire up to 75 people in the next three years as the company expands into additional European markets.

Jón Thór Gunnarsson, CEO of Arctic Adventures, said, “We at Arctic Adventures are very excited over the purchase of Into the Glacier, which is the largest man-made Ice Cave in the world. The Ice Cave is situated on Langjökull, Iceland´s second largest glacier and is a unique product. The addition of Into the Glacier to our product line shows Arctic Adventures´ commitment to offering high quality products to our customers, and being the only full range activities operator in Iceland.”