Summary
June 2020 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 17,092 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 382,156 in June 2019—a -95.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 20.2%, down 51.7 percentage points from 71.9% in 2019. Foreign card spending totaled 2.4 billion ISK (-90.3% YoY).
June 2020 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 748,777, down 58.5% on the same period of 2019. Within 2020, June ranked 7th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for June over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 95.1%.
Germany was the largest source market with 22.3% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 48.8%. Hotel occupancy of 20.2% 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 June 2020, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2020 | Nights 2019 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 3,808 | 46,170 | -91.8% | 22.3% |
| 2 | Denmark | 2,523 | 11,509 | -78.1% | 14.8% |
| 3 | United States of America | 2,002 | 127,163 | -98.4% | 11.7% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 1,201 | 29,440 | -95.9% | 7.0% |
| 5 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 1,055 | 8,691 | -87.9% | 6.2% |
| 6 | France | 1,014 | 18,534 | -94.5% | 5.9% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 748 | 9,461 | -92.1% | 4.4% |
| 8 | Norway | 725 | 8,495 | -91.5% | 4.2% |
| 9 | Austria | 396 | 2,741 | -85.6% | 2.3% |
| 10 | Italy | 377 | 6,200 | -93.9% | 2.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2020:
| Region | Occupancy 2020 | Occupancy 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| West & Westfjords | 33.6% | 57.2% | -23.6 pp |
| East | 32.0% | 66.4% | -34.4 pp |
| North | 31.7% | 63.5% | -31.8 pp |
| South | 22.8% | 67.3% | -44.5 pp |
| Total | 20.2% | 71.9% | -51.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 13.7% | 80.0% | -66.3 pp |
| Capital Region | 11.3% | 77.6% | -66.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2020 was 2,432.13 million ISK (2.43 billion ISK), compared to 24,945.84 million ISK in June 2019.
This represents a -90.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 74,115 overnight stays in hotels in June 2020, up 94.2% from 38,164 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