Summary
March 2020 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 154,438 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 342,019 in March 2019—a -54.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 29.6%, down 36.3 percentage points from 65.9% in 2019. Foreign card spending totaled 6.2 billion ISK (-66.1% YoY).
March 2020 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 723,986, down 20.5% on the same period of 2019. Within 2020, March ranked 3rd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 46.9%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 27.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 62.2%. Hotel occupancy of 29.6% 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 March 2020, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2020 | Nights 2019 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 41,656 | 83,281 | -50.0% | 27.0% |
| 2 | United States of America | 38,661 | 100,613 | -61.6% | 25.0% |
| 3 | Germany | 15,693 | 24,164 | -35.1% | 10.2% |
| 4 | France | 10,255 | 14,252 | -28.0% | 6.6% |
| 5 | Denmark | 5,094 | 8,829 | -42.3% | 3.3% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 4,813 | 7,497 | -35.8% | 3.1% |
| 7 | Other Asian countries | 4,318 | 16,934 | -74.5% | 2.8% |
| 8 | China | 3,160 | 17,571 | -82.0% | 2.0% |
| 9 | Spain | 3,132 | 7,088 | -55.8% | 2.0% |
| 10 | Canada | 2,555 | 6,264 | -59.2% | 1.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2020:
| Region | Occupancy 2020 | Occupancy 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 37.0% | 79.8% | -42.8 pp |
| Total | 29.6% | 65.9% | -36.3 pp |
| Reykjanes | 27.6% | 68.4% | -40.8 pp |
| South | 26.1% | 62.4% | -36.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 19.2% | 40.1% | -20.9 pp |
| North | 17.0% | 37.8% | -20.8 pp |
| East | 15.2% | 26.2% | -11.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2020 was 6,202.1 million ISK (6.20 billion ISK), compared to 18,292.14 million ISK in March 2019.
This represents a -66.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 18,636 overnight stays in hotels in March 2020, down 53.8% from 40,338 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