Summary
July 2019 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 468,173 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 442,469 in July 2018—a +5.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 80.7%, down 1.8 percentage points from 82.5% in 2018. Foreign card spending totaled 31.2 billion ISK (-7.0% YoY).
July 2019 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 2,273,186, up 1.1% on the same period of 2018. Within 2019, July ranked 2nd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for July over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 22.5%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 32.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 51.2%. Hotel occupancy of 80.7% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; at this level most hotels in the capital are effectively full on peak nights. 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 July 2019, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2019 | Nights 2018 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 152,079 | 157,313 | -3.3% | 32.5% |
| 2 | Germany | 54,670 | 56,844 | -3.8% | 11.7% |
| 3 | China | 32,920 | 27,844 | +18.2% | 7.0% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 30,626 | 29,758 | +2.9% | 6.5% |
| 5 | France | 19,962 | 19,264 | +3.6% | 4.3% |
| 6 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 16,210 | 13,490 | +20.2% | 3.5% |
| 7 | Spain | 15,893 | 14,478 | +9.8% | 3.4% |
| 8 | Denmark | 14,706 | 9,853 | +49.3% | 3.1% |
| 9 | Italy | 12,124 | 11,475 | +5.7% | 2.6% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 11,695 | 9,363 | +24.9% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2019:
| Region | Occupancy 2019 | Occupancy 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 88.6% | 91.3% | -2.7 pp |
| South | 84.6% | 83.9% | +0.7 pp |
| East | 80.8% | 79.1% | +1.7 pp |
| Total | 80.7% | 82.5% | -1.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 80.1% | 84.3% | -4.2 pp |
| North | 78.5% | 73.8% | +4.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 70.0% | 75.4% | -5.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2019 was 31,181.39 million ISK (31.18 billion ISK), compared to 33,536.77 million ISK in July 2018.
This represents a -7.0% 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 39,656 overnight stays in hotels in July 2019, down 10.5% from 44,321 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