Greenland has a message for the rest of the world: Come visit

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland has a message for the rest of the world: We’re waiting for you.

“Come visit Greenland,” said Nukartaa Andreassen, who works for a water taxi company in the capital city, Nuuk. “Learn about it, learn about us. We love to have you. We love to tell our stories and our culture.”

The mineral-rich Arctic island is open for tourism. Whale-watching tours, excursions to the iconic puffin island and guided charters through remote settlements are just the beginning of what Greenland has to offer visitors. Locals want to show what makes the island unique beyond a recent diplomatic dustup with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Our goal and mission is to present and be the ambassadors of Greenland,” said Casper Frank Møller, the chief executive of Nuuk-based tour guide company Raw Arctic, “and to show what beauty you can experience while you’re here.”

The tourism industry is expected to see a boom this year following the launch of a new route between Nuuk and Newark, New Jersey. The inaugural flight June 14 was the first direct travel from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline.

Before the direct flight, air passengers departing from the U.S. needed a layover in Iceland or Denmark to reach Greenland. The change benefited travelers like Doug Jenzen, an American tourist who was on the United Airlines plane from New Jersey.

“I came with the purpose of exploring some of the natural sites around the world’s largest island, hoping to support things like ecotourism and sustainable travel while supporting the local economy,” Jenzen said.

Cruise ships can already dock on the island but they bring less money to businesses catering to tourists because passengers sleep and usually eat on board.

Some 150,000 tourists visited Greenland in 2024, according to Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland's business minister.

“We really want to grow the tourism sector. It’s a very good fit for many in Greenland,” Nathanielsen added. “Tourism is about good vibes. It’s about sharing culture, sharing history. It’s about storytelling. And as Inuit, that’s very much part of our heritage.”

Greenland gained worldwide attention when Trump earlier this year announced he wanted to take control of the semiautonomous Danish territory, through a purchase or possibly by force.

Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland have said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence there.

Despite the diplomatic tension, Frank Møller of Raw Arctic sees an upside.

“It has kind of put Greenland on the world map. And it’s definitely a situation that Raw Arctic has used to our advantage,” he said.

Still, beefing up the tourism industry should happen at a pace that prioritizes the voices and comfort levels of the roughly 56,000 people on the island, he added.

Andreassen, of Nuuk Water Taxi, agreed.

“It’s very important for me to tell my own story. Because I always feel like when I meet new people, I always introduce a whole Greenland,” she said. “It’s important for me to show our own culture, our own nature. Not by television, not by other people from other countries."

In June, Pinar Saatci, a 59-year-old Turkish tourist, saw several whales breach the ocean surface during a boat tour.

“It’s very exciting to be here, at the other part of the world, so far away from home," she said. “It’s a very exciting and unforgettable moment.”

Risskov Rejser has visited Greenland several times through her travel company for Danish travelers. But she is worried about the impact of a tourist invasion.

“For me, the worst thing would be if mass tourism starts and people come here, and sort of look upon the Greenland people as if they were a living museum," she said. "It has to be done in a respectful way and you have to consider what the consequences are.”

Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

Puffins are seen during a puffin watching tour at sea near Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

The first direct scheduled flight from Newark in the USA to Nuuk lands at the airport in Nuuk, Greenland, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Passengers and tour guide on a tour boat of Raw Arctic at a harbour in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Tourists kayak at sea in front of Nuuk Cathedral in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Houses in Nuuk, Greenland, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Tourists stand in front of the Statue of Hans Egede in Nuuk, Greenland, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Tourists on a whale watching boat tour take photos at sea near Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Saudi warplanes have reportedly struck on Friday forces in southern Yemen backed by the United Arab Emirates, a separatist leader says.

This comes as a Saudi-led operation attempts to take over camps of the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, in the governorate of Haramout that borders Saudi Arabia.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE rose after the STC moved last month into Yemen’s governorates of Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. The move pushed out forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces, a group aligned with the coalition in fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen accused the head of the STC of blocking a Saudi mediation delegation from landing in the southern city of Aden.

The STC deputy and former Hamdrmout governor, Ahmed bin Breik, said in a statement that the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces advanced toward the camps, but the separatists refused to withdraw, apparently leading to the airstrikes.

Mohamed al-Nakib, spokesperson for the STC-backed Southern Shield Forces, also known as Dera Al-Janoub, said Saudi airstrikes caused fatalities, without providing details. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.

Al-Nakib also accused Saudi Arabia in a video on X of using “Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda militias” in a "large-scale attack " early Friday that he claimed sepratists were able to repel.

He likened the latest developments to Yemen’s 1994 civil war, “except that this time it is under the cover of Saudi aviation operations.”

Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout who was chosen Friday by Yemen's internationally recognized government to command the Saudi-led forces in the governorate, refuted STC claims, calling them “ridiculous” and showing intentions of escalation instead of a peaceful handover, according Okaz newspaper, which is aligned with the Saudi government.

Earlier on Friday, al-khanbashi called the current operation of retrieving seized areas “peaceful.”

“This operation is not a declaration of war and does not seek escalation,” al-Khanbashi said in a speech aired on state media. “This is a responsible pre-emptive measure to remove weapons and prevent chaos and the camps from being used to undermine the security in Hadramout,” he added.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen demands the withdrawal of STC forces from the two governorates as part of de-escalation efforts. The STC has so far refused to hand over its weapons and camps.

The coalition's spokesperson Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said Friday on X that Saudi-backed naval forces were deployed across the Arabian Sea to carry out inspections and combat smuggling.

In his post on X, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, said the kingdom had tried “all efforts with STC” for weeks "to stop the escalation" and to urge the separatists to leave Hadramout and Mahra, only to be faced with “continued intransigence and rejection from Aidarous al-Zubaidi," the STC head.

Al-Jaber said the latest development was not permitting the Saudi delegation's jet to land in Aden, despite having agreed on its arrival with some STC leaders to find a solution that serves “everyone and the public interest.”

Yemen’s transport ministry, aligned with STC, said Saudi Arabia imposed on Thursday requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah. The ministry expressed “shock” and denounced the decision. There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities.

ِA spokesperson with the transport ministry told the AP late Thursday that all flights from and to the UAE were suspended until Saudi Arabia reverses these reported measures.

Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war for more than a decade, with the Houthis controlling much of the northern regions, while a Saudi-UAE-backed coalition supports the internationally recognized government in the south. However, the UAE also helps the southern separatists who call for South Yemen to secede once again from Yemen. Those aligned with the council have increasingly flown the flag of South Yemen, which was a separate country from 1967-1990.

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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.

Southern Yemen soldiers of Southern Transitional Council (STC) at a check point, in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)