Summary
March 2021 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 11,768 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 154,438 in March 2020—a -92.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 13.1%, down 16.5 percentage points from 29.6% in 2020. Foreign card spending totaled 2.0 billion ISK (-67.3% YoY).
March 2021 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 26,182, down 96.4% on the same period of 2020. Within 2021, March ranked 10th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 96.0%. Compared with March 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 96.6%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 19.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 49.0%. Hotel occupancy of 13.1% 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 March 2021, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2021 | Nights 2020 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 2,303 | 38,661 | -94.0% | 19.6% |
| 2 | Italy | 1,772 | 2,067 | -14.3% | 15.1% |
| 3 | Germany | 1,692 | 15,693 | -89.2% | 14.4% |
| 4 | France | 949 | 10,255 | -90.7% | 8.1% |
| 5 | Poland | 724 | 885 | -18.2% | 6.2% |
| 6 | Lithuania | 560 | 160 | +250.0% | 4.8% |
| 7 | Denmark | 540 | 5,094 | -89.4% | 4.6% |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 515 | 41,656 | -98.8% | 4.4% |
| 9 | Sweden | 314 | 1,737 | -81.9% | 2.7% |
| 10 | Austria | 215 | 1,126 | -80.9% | 1.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2021:
| Region | Occupancy 2021 | Occupancy 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 22.8% | 17.0% | +5.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 13.2% | 37.0% | -23.8 pp |
| Total | 13.1% | 29.6% | -16.5 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 12.8% | 19.2% | -6.4 pp |
| South | 10.3% | 26.1% | -15.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 10.2% | 27.6% | -17.4 pp |
| East | 5.8% | 15.2% | -9.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2021 was 2,029.59 million ISK (2.03 billion ISK), compared to 6,202.1 million ISK in March 2020.
This represents a -67.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 44,589 overnight stays in hotels in March 2021, up 139.3% from 18,636 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