Summary
May 2020 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 4,079 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 276,749 in May 2019—a -98.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 8.2%, down 47.5 percentage points from 55.7% in 2019. Foreign card spending totaled 0.8 billion ISK (-95.7% YoY).
May 2020 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 731,685, down 48.6% on the same period of 2019. Within 2020, May ranked 11th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for May over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 98.4%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 18.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 43.7%. Hotel occupancy of 8.2% 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 May 2020, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2020 | Nights 2019 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 736 | 86,716 | -99.2% | 18.0% |
| 2 | Canada | 697 | 8,223 | -91.5% | 17.1% |
| 3 | Germany | 349 | 29,746 | -98.8% | 8.6% |
| 4 | Norway | 243 | 10,509 | -97.7% | 6.0% |
| 5 | Other African countries | 170 | 435 | -60.9% | 4.2% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 154 | 9,661 | -98.4% | 3.8% |
| 7 | France | 146 | 11,632 | -98.7% | 3.6% |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 138 | 26,035 | -99.5% | 3.4% |
| 9 | Russia | 137 | 2,785 | -95.1% | 3.4% |
| 10 | Spain | 132 | 5,846 | -97.7% | 3.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2020:
| Region | Occupancy 2020 | Occupancy 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| West & Westfjords | 15.5% | 39.7% | -24.2 pp |
| North | 14.1% | 42.5% | -28.4 pp |
| South | 9.7% | 47.0% | -37.3 pp |
| Total | 8.2% | 55.7% | -47.5 pp |
| East | 7.9% | 44.8% | -36.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 6.6% | 53.1% | -46.5 pp |
| Capital Region | 4.6% | 66.6% | -62.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2020 was 814.03 million ISK (0.81 billion ISK), compared to 18,779.59 million ISK in May 2019.
This represents a -95.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 33,717 overnight stays in hotels in May 2020, down 11.9% from 38,266 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