Summary
June 2023 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 444,575 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 427,576 in June 2022—a +4.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 79.0%, up 0.4 percentage points from 78.6% in 2022. Foreign card spending totaled 37.2 billion ISK (+25.2% YoY).
June 2023 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 2,071,388, up 31.0% on the same period of 2022. Within 2023, June ranked 4th 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 17.0%. Compared with June 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 16.3%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 37.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 56.4%. Hotel occupancy of 79.0% 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 2023, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2023 | Nights 2022 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 168,088 | 147,593 | +13.9% | 37.8% |
| 2 | Germany | 51,257 | 62,324 | -17.8% | 11.5% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 31,217 | 38,158 | -18.2% | 7.0% |
| 4 | France | 21,423 | 25,011 | -14.3% | 4.8% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 17,217 | 15,638 | +10.1% | 3.9% |
| 6 | Canada | 12,399 | 11,215 | +10.6% | 2.8% |
| 7 | Denmark | 11,901 | 15,086 | -21.1% | 2.7% |
| 8 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 11,744 | 10,382 | +13.1% | 2.6% |
| 9 | Italy | 10,765 | 12,389 | -13.1% | 2.4% |
| 10 | Other Asian countries | 9,804 | 3,540 | +176.9% | 2.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2023:
| Region | Occupancy 2023 | Occupancy 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | 82.7% | 78.1% | +4.6 pp |
| East | 82.4% | 81.9% | +0.5 pp |
| Capital Region | 80.1% | 82.3% | -2.2 pp |
| Total | 79.0% | 78.6% | +0.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 76.9% | 68.7% | +8.2 pp |
| North | 73.4% | 75.7% | -2.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 71.1% | 71.0% | +0.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2023 was 37,207.72 million ISK (37.21 billion ISK), compared to 29,717.99 million ISK in June 2022.
This represents a +25.2% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 64,996 overnight stays in hotels in June 2023, down 4.2% from 67,830 in 2022.
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