Why the Faroe Islands are closing to tourists

(CNN) — Managing a popular tourist attraction can be kind of like throwing a party -- everyone wants to come and have fun, but nobody wants to help clean up when it's over.

But the Faroe Islands, a group of autonomous islands located between Iceland and Norway and under the jurisdiction of Denmark, have come up with an innovative way to take care of their home and welcome visitors at the same time.

An official notice on the islands' national tourism website reads "closed for maintenance, open for voluntourism."

The country made the decision to "close" -- no hotels will be open or airplanes flying in -- during the weekend of April 26-27, 2019.

That weekend, people all over the island archipelago will be working on conservation projects and, as the tourism board puts it, "delivering a touch of TLC to the Faroese countryside to ready it for visitors in 2019."

However, people who are just dying to visit the Faroes during that weekend can sign on to help with the housekeeping. The islands asked for 100 volunteers to come to the country to assist with the caretaking efforts -- and thousands applied.

"For us, tourism is not all about numbers," Guðrið Højgaard, Director at Visit Faroe Islands, tells CNN Travel. "We welcome visitors to the islands each year, but we also have a responsibility to our community and to our beautiful environment, and our aim is to preserve and protect the islands, ensuring sustainable and responsible growth."

The hundred voluntourists include travelers from Mexico, Israel, Australia, China and the United States. Højgaard confirms that because the surprising popularity of the volunteering weekend, the Faroes will host the event annually.

Faroe Islands' capital, Tórshavn, has a population of about 13,000, according to data from the United Nations.

According to the Faroes' tourism authority, visits to the country have increased by 10% over the past few years.

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