Summary
June 2022 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 427,576 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 124,422 in June 2021—a +243.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 78.6%, up 39.5 percentage points from 39.1% in 2021. Foreign card spending totaled 29.7 billion ISK (+135.4% YoY).
June 2022 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 1,581,229, up 630.7% on the same period of 2021. Within 2022, June ranked 3rd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for June over the five preceding years (excluding the pandemic years 2020 and 2021), this month came in ahead by 23.3%. Compared with June 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 11.9%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 34.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 58.0%. Hotel occupancy of 78.6% 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 2022, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2022 | Nights 2021 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 147,593 | 71,671 | +105.9% | 34.5% |
| 2 | Germany | 62,324 | 11,160 | +458.5% | 14.6% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 38,158 | 9,671 | +294.6% | 8.9% |
| 4 | France | 25,011 | 5,878 | +325.5% | 5.8% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 15,638 | 1,166 | +1241.2% | 3.7% |
| 6 | Denmark | 15,086 | 2,209 | +582.9% | 3.5% |
| 7 | Italy | 12,389 | 1,868 | +563.2% | 2.9% |
| 8 | Sweden | 11,316 | 447 | +2431.5% | 2.6% |
| 9 | Canada | 11,215 | 467 | +2301.5% | 2.6% |
| 10 | Spain | 10,802 | 1,301 | +730.3% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2022:
| Region | Occupancy 2022 | Occupancy 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 82.3% | 42.7% | +39.6 pp |
| East | 81.9% | 27.2% | +54.7 pp |
| Total | 78.6% | 39.1% | +39.5 pp |
| South | 78.1% | 33.4% | +44.7 pp |
| North | 75.7% | 44.0% | +31.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 71.0% | 41.9% | +29.1 pp |
| Reykjanes | 68.7% | 35.7% | +33.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2022 was 29,717.99 million ISK (29.72 billion ISK), compared to 12,622.21 million ISK in June 2021.
This represents a +135.4% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 67,830 overnight stays in hotels in June 2022, down 8.3% from 73,991 in 2021.
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