Summary
June 2024 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 411,731 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 444,575 in June 2023—a -7.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 73.8%, down 5.2 percentage points from 79.0% in 2023. Foreign card spending totaled 36.3 billion ISK (-2.4% YoY).
June 2024 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 1,971,058, down 4.8% on the same period of 2023. Within 2024, June ranked 5th 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 2.8%. Compared with June 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 7.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 40.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 56.7%. Hotel occupancy of 73.8% 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 2024, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2024 | Nights 2023 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 166,998 | 168,088 | -0.6% | 40.6% |
| 2 | Germany | 43,701 | 51,257 | -14.7% | 10.6% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 22,812 | 31,217 | -26.9% | 5.5% |
| 4 | France | 19,025 | 21,423 | -11.2% | 4.6% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 16,416 | 17,217 | -4.7% | 4.0% |
| 6 | Canada | 16,003 | 12,399 | +29.1% | 3.9% |
| 7 | China | 14,603 | 7,855 | +85.9% | 3.5% |
| 8 | Other Asian countries | 10,411 | 9,804 | +6.2% | 2.5% |
| 9 | Italy | 9,806 | 10,765 | -8.9% | 2.4% |
| 10 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 9,503 | 11,744 | -19.1% | 2.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2024:
| Region | Occupancy 2024 | Occupancy 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 78.2% | 80.1% | -1.9 pp |
| South | 76.3% | 82.7% | -6.4 pp |
| Total | 73.8% | 79.0% | -5.2 pp |
| Reykjanes | 68.8% | 76.9% | -8.1 pp |
| North | 66.9% | 73.4% | -6.5 pp |
| East | 61.8% | 82.4% | -20.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 60.9% | 71.1% | -10.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2024 was 36,301.48 million ISK (36.30 billion ISK), compared to 37,207.72 million ISK in June 2023.
This represents a -2.4% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 75,878 overnight stays in hotels in June 2024, up 16.7% from 64,996 in 2023.
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