Summary
August 2020 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 91,554 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 484,764 in August 2019—a -81.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 35.1%, down 47.4 percentage points from 82.5% in 2019. Foreign card spending totaled 9.3 billion ISK (-70.2% YoY).
August 2020 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 945,708, down 65.7% on the same period of 2019. Within 2020, August ranked 5th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for August over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 78.4%.
Germany was the largest source market with 27.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 46.7%. Hotel occupancy of 35.1% 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 August 2020, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2020 | Nights 2019 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 25,195 | 52,437 | -52.0% | 27.5% |
| 2 | Denmark | 9,307 | 13,166 | -29.3% | 10.2% |
| 3 | France | 8,244 | 26,590 | -69.0% | 9.0% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 7,712 | 30,879 | -75.0% | 8.4% |
| 5 | Italy | 7,478 | 26,786 | -72.1% | 8.2% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 5,600 | 11,535 | -51.5% | 6.1% |
| 7 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 4,484 | 11,967 | -62.5% | 4.9% |
| 8 | Spain | 3,889 | 27,246 | -85.7% | 4.2% |
| 9 | Austria | 2,861 | 4,910 | -41.7% | 3.1% |
| 10 | United States of America | 2,369 | 147,543 | -98.4% | 2.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2020:
| Region | Occupancy 2020 | Occupancy 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 58.7% | 75.0% | -16.3 pp |
| East | 57.9% | 80.5% | -22.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 43.3% | 66.7% | -23.4 pp |
| Total | 35.1% | 82.5% | -47.4 pp |
| South | 33.6% | 85.2% | -51.6 pp |
| Capital Region | 26.7% | 85.1% | -58.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 23.7% | 87.8% | -64.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2020 was 9,348.47 million ISK (9.35 billion ISK), compared to 31,358.19 million ISK in August 2019.
This represents a -70.2% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 89,020 overnight stays in hotels in August 2020, up 133.2% from 38,181 in 2019.
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