Summary
May 2021 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 48,578 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 4,079 in May 2020—a +1090.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 24.3%, up 16.1 percentage points from 8.2% in 2020. Foreign card spending totaled 5.7 billion ISK (+594.9% YoY).
May 2021 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 91,975, down 87.4% on the same period of 2020. Within 2021, May ranked 8th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for May over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 80.6%. Compared with May 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 82.4%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 58.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 73.8%. Hotel occupancy of 24.3% 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 2021, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2021 | Nights 2020 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 28,563 | 736 | +3780.8% | 58.8% |
| 2 | Germany | 4,272 | 349 | +1124.1% | 8.8% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 3,017 | 138 | +2086.2% | 6.2% |
| 4 | France | 1,378 | 146 | +843.8% | 2.8% |
| 5 | Republic of South Korea | 1,247 | 16 | +7693.8% | 2.6% |
| 6 | Italy | 1,020 | 57 | +1689.5% | 2.1% |
| 7 | Israel | 916 | 0 | 0.0% | 1.9% |
| 8 | Denmark | 887 | 93 | +853.8% | 1.8% |
| 9 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 806 | 38 | +2021.1% | 1.7% |
| 10 | Spain | 755 | 132 | +472.0% | 1.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2021:
| Region | Occupancy 2021 | Occupancy 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 27.6% | 4.6% | +23.0 pp |
| North | 25.6% | 14.1% | +11.5 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 24.5% | 15.5% | +9.0 pp |
| Total | 24.3% | 8.2% | +16.1 pp |
| South | 22.5% | 9.7% | +12.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 17.7% | 6.6% | +11.1 pp |
| East | 15.2% | 7.9% | +7.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2021 was 5,657.1 million ISK (5.66 billion ISK), compared to 814.03 million ISK in May 2020.
This represents a +594.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 64,431 overnight stays in hotels in May 2021, up 91.1% from 33,717 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