Summary
March 2024 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 371,609 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 368,016 in March 2023—a +1.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 63.5%, down 1.5 percentage points from 65.0% in 2023. Foreign card spending totaled 25.4 billion ISK (+13.9% YoY).
Foreign Overnight Stays by Source Market
The top source markets for March 2024, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2024 | Nights 2023 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 105,338 | 109,368 | -3.7% | 28.3% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 82,916 | 92,486 | -10.3% | 22.3% |
| 3 | Germany | 29,511 | 33,252 | -11.3% | 7.9% |
| 4 | China | 20,254 | 8,799 | +130.2% | 5.5% |
| 5 | France | 17,005 | 18,579 | -8.5% | 4.6% |
| 6 | Other Asian countries | 14,159 | 10,666 | +32.7% | 3.8% |
| 7 | Italy | 11,664 | 9,911 | +17.7% | 3.1% |
| 8 | Spain | 11,419 | 7,438 | +53.5% | 3.1% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 10,290 | 12,538 | -17.9% | 2.8% |
| 10 | Canada | 6,212 | 4,659 | +33.3% | 1.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2024:
| Region | Occupancy 2024 | Occupancy 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 76.1% | 78.7% | -2.6 pp |
| South | 71.7% | 70.0% | +1.7 pp |
| Total | 63.5% | 65.0% | -1.5 pp |
| Reykjanes | 51.2% | 53.7% | -2.5 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 36.9% | 37.8% | -0.9 pp |
| North | 34.1% | 35.9% | -1.8 pp |
| East | 26.5% | 34.2% | -7.7 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2024 was 25,405.89 million ISK (25.41 billion ISK), compared to 22,303.72 million ISK in March 2023.
This represents a +13.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 68,031 overnight stays in hotels in March 2024, up 20.0% from 56,687 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