Summary
June 2018 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 376,622 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 371,766 in June 2017—a +1.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 77.3%, down 3.6 percentage points from 80.9% in 2017. Foreign card spending totaled 28.0 billion ISK (+0.6% YoY).
June 2018 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 1,806,903, up 1.7% on the same period of 2017. Within 2018, June ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for June over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 35.4%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 35.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.9%. Hotel occupancy of 77.3% 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 June 2018, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2018 | Nights 2017 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 133,829 | 114,316 | +17.1% | 35.5% |
| 2 | Germany | 44,992 | 62,142 | -27.6% | 11.9% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 31,866 | 33,832 | -5.8% | 8.5% |
| 4 | China | 24,833 | 17,808 | +39.4% | 6.6% |
| 5 | France | 19,137 | 20,606 | -7.1% | 5.1% |
| 6 | Other Asian countries | 12,407 | 11,851 | +4.7% | 3.3% |
| 7 | Canada | 11,267 | 12,419 | -9.3% | 3.0% |
| 8 | Sweden | 9,225 | 12,817 | -28.0% | 2.4% |
| 9 | Spain | 8,672 | 8,316 | +4.3% | 2.3% |
| 10 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 8,658 | 9,192 | -5.8% | 2.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2018:
| Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 83.3% | 74.5% | +8.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 83.2% | 87.5% | -4.3 pp |
| Total | 77.3% | 80.9% | -3.6 pp |
| South | 74.5% | 76.9% | -2.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 69.4% | 72.1% | -2.7 pp |
| North | 65.1% | 72.5% | -7.4 pp |
| East | 60.2% | 65.0% | -4.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2018 was 27,959.69 million ISK (27.96 billion ISK), compared to 27,799.57 million ISK in June 2017.
This represents a +0.6% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 42,551 overnight stays in hotels in June 2018, up 76.5% from 24,115 in 2017.
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