Summary
August 2021 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 367,044 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 91,554 in August 2020—a +300.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 75.3%, up 40.2 percentage points from 35.1% in 2020. Foreign card spending totaled 25.2 billion ISK (+169.8% YoY).
August 2021 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 862,003, down 8.9% on the same period of 2020. Within 2021, August ranked 1st of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for August over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 13.3%. Compared with August 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 24.3%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 36.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 57.4%. Hotel occupancy of 75.3% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 2021, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2021 | Nights 2020 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 133,972 | 2,369 | +5555.2% | 36.5% |
| 2 | Germany | 50,279 | 25,195 | +99.6% | 13.7% |
| 3 | Italy | 26,444 | 7,478 | +253.6% | 7.2% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 22,994 | 7,712 | +198.2% | 6.3% |
| 5 | France | 20,846 | 8,244 | +152.9% | 5.7% |
| 6 | Israel | 19,834 | 43 | +46025.6% | 5.4% |
| 7 | Spain | 13,745 | 3,889 | +253.4% | 3.7% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 11,148 | 5,600 | +99.1% | 3.0% |
| 9 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 10,909 | 4,484 | +143.3% | 3.0% |
| 10 | Denmark | 7,998 | 9,307 | -14.1% | 2.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2021:
| Region | Occupancy 2021 | Occupancy 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 82.4% | 57.9% | +24.5 pp |
| North | 79.4% | 58.7% | +20.7 pp |
| South | 76.1% | 33.6% | +42.5 pp |
| Capital Region | 75.8% | 26.7% | +49.1 pp |
| Total | 75.3% | 35.1% | +40.2 pp |
| Reykjanes | 72.2% | 23.7% | +48.5 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 65.6% | 43.3% | +22.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2021 was 25,218.66 million ISK (25.22 billion ISK), compared to 9,348.47 million ISK in August 2020.
This represents a +169.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 93,978 overnight stays in hotels in August 2021, up 5.6% from 89,020 in 2020.
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