Summary
June 2021 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 124,422 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 17,092 in June 2020—a +628.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 39.1%, up 18.9 percentage points from 20.2% in 2020. Foreign card spending totaled 12.6 billion ISK (+419.0% YoY).
June 2021 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 216,397, down 71.1% on the same period of 2020. Within 2021, 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 64.1%. Compared with June 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 67.4%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 57.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 74.3%. Hotel occupancy of 39.1% 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 June 2021, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2021 | Nights 2020 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 71,671 | 2,002 | +3480.0% | 57.6% |
| 2 | Germany | 11,160 | 3,808 | +193.1% | 9.0% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 9,671 | 1,201 | +705.2% | 7.8% |
| 4 | France | 5,878 | 1,014 | +479.7% | 4.7% |
| 5 | Israel | 5,266 | 7 | +75128.6% | 4.2% |
| 6 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 2,932 | 1,055 | +177.9% | 2.4% |
| 7 | Denmark | 2,209 | 2,523 | -12.4% | 1.8% |
| 8 | Italy | 1,868 | 377 | +395.5% | 1.5% |
| 9 | Poland | 1,827 | 275 | +564.4% | 1.5% |
| 10 | Spain | 1,301 | 131 | +893.1% | 1.0% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2021:
| Region | Occupancy 2021 | Occupancy 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 44.0% | 31.7% | +12.3 pp |
| Capital Region | 42.7% | 11.3% | +31.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 41.9% | 33.6% | +8.3 pp |
| Total | 39.1% | 20.2% | +18.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 35.7% | 13.7% | +22.0 pp |
| South | 33.4% | 22.8% | +10.6 pp |
| East | 27.2% | 32.0% | -4.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2021 was 12,622.21 million ISK (12.62 billion ISK), compared to 2,432.13 million ISK in June 2020.
This represents a +419.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 73,991 overnight stays in hotels in June 2021, down 0.2% from 74,115 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