Why the Faroe Islands are stopping tourists from visiting

This is a growing tourist destination that’s suddenly become off-limits to visitors. Here’s why it had to make that decision.

A growing tourist destination is about to undergo some major spring cleaning by kicking all tourists out.

The Faroe Islands, an 18-island archipelago midway between Iceland and Scotland that is part of Denmark, will shutter its doors to tourists on the weekend of April 26 and 27 unless they want to help locals keep the rocky isles clean and unspoilt, Fox News reports.

The Faroe Islands, an 18-island archipelago midway between Iceland and Scotland, is closing for tourists for a weekend in April.

“The Faroe Islands is one of the most unspoilt and unpolluted places on earth and we are keen to ensure that our green islands remain so,” the tourism board said on its website.

“Therefore, we have invited volunteers to come and join us in maintaining the Faroe Islands.”

Around 100 visitors will be able to join forces with the Faroese Maintenance Crew and work with locals to offer a helping hand, according to Sky News. Those who sign up will receive free room and board.

The islands are famous for their birdlife, including the Atlantic puffins. Picture: iStock

Volunteers can work on projects including creating walking paths in “well-trodden areas,” constructing viewpoints that help preserve nature and birdlife sanctuaries and erecting signs that help with wayfinding.

Gudrid Hoejgaard, head of the local tourist board, says about 100,000 people visit the islands every year.

The village of Sandavagur on Vagar in the Faroe Islands.

Hoejgaard said “tourism is not all about numbers,” adding that “our aim is to preserve and protect the islands.”

Hoejgaard and her team initially went on a mission to attract people to the Faroe Islands, and came up with a campaign entitled Sheep View in 2016.

The campaign featured sheep running around the islands with a camera strapped to their backs in a bid to persuade Google to include the islands in its Street View facility, Sky News reported.

Boesadalafoss, a waterfall on the Faroe Islands.

The windy islands, inhabited by about 50,000 people and 80,000 sheep, draw visitors to their dramatic scenery, with waterfalls and abundant birdlife.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission