Summary
April 2019 was part of Iceland's spring shoulder season with Easter holiday travel. Foreign guests recorded 235,536 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 235,087 in April 2018—a +0.2% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 49.2%, down 5.1 percentage points from 54.3% in 2018. Foreign card spending totaled 14.6 billion ISK (-8.3% YoY).
April 2019 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through April, reached 1,146,108, down 0.9% on the same period of 2018. Within 2019, April ranked 12th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for April over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 22.9%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 29.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 53.7%. Hotel occupancy of 49.2% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is typical of Iceland's low season, when many rural hotels close and demand concentrates in Reykjavík. Spending figures are foreign card turnover reported by the Central Bank and exclude cash and purchases made before arrival.
Foreign Overnight Stays by Source Market
The top source markets for April 2019, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2019 | Nights 2018 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 68,569 | 69,282 | -1.0% | 29.1% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 37,451 | 44,324 | -15.5% | 15.9% |
| 3 | Germany | 20,409 | 16,974 | +20.2% | 8.7% |
| 4 | Other Asian countries | 9,169 | 9,996 | -8.3% | 3.9% |
| 5 | France | 8,755 | 9,405 | -6.9% | 3.7% |
| 6 | China | 8,622 | 6,824 | +26.3% | 3.7% |
| 7 | Sweden | 7,388 | 9,069 | -18.5% | 3.1% |
| 8 | Norway | 7,387 | 7,516 | -1.7% | 3.1% |
| 9 | Spain | 6,974 | 4,983 | +40.0% | 3.0% |
| 10 | Denmark | 6,283 | 6,097 | +3.1% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for April 2019:
| Region | Occupancy 2019 | Occupancy 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 60.8% | 56.6% | +4.2 pp |
| Capital Region | 56.5% | 66.1% | -9.6 pp |
| Total | 49.2% | 54.3% | -5.1 pp |
| South | 44.6% | 45.5% | -0.9 pp |
| North | 36.0% | 37.0% | -1.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 33.2% | 33.0% | +0.2 pp |
| East | 28.0% | 22.0% | +6.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in April 2019 was 14,609.48 million ISK (14.61 billion ISK), compared to 15,927.86 million ISK in April 2018.
This represents a -8.3% year-over-year change. Despite growth in overnight stays in hotels, spending declined—possibly reflecting lower per-visitor expenditure or shifts in spending patterns.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 37,054 overnight stays in hotels in April 2019, down 18.3% from 45,359 in 2018.
Data Sources
- Overnight Stays: Statistics Iceland (Hagstofa Íslands) — foreign and domestic guest nights in registered hotels
- Occupancy Rates: Statistics Iceland — room occupancy as % of available hotel capacity
- Card Spending: Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki Íslands) — foreign debit/credit card turnover