Summary
May 2022 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 272,405 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 48,578 in May 2021—a +460.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 53.3%, up 29.0 percentage points from 24.3% in 2021. Foreign card spending totaled 20.0 billion ISK (+254.0% YoY).
May 2022 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 1,153,653, up 1154.3% on the same period of 2021. Within 2022, May ranked 8th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for May over the five preceding years (excluding the pandemic years 2020 and 2021), this month came in ahead by 8.5%. Compared with May 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 1.6%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 31.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.5%. Hotel occupancy of 53.3% 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 2022, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2022 | Nights 2021 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 85,052 | 28,563 | +197.8% | 31.2% |
| 2 | Germany | 36,947 | 4,272 | +764.9% | 13.6% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 29,223 | 3,017 | +868.6% | 10.7% |
| 4 | France | 16,917 | 1,378 | +1127.6% | 6.2% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 13,178 | 332 | +3869.3% | 4.8% |
| 6 | Denmark | 12,223 | 887 | +1278.0% | 4.5% |
| 7 | Norway | 8,604 | 352 | +2344.3% | 3.2% |
| 8 | Spain | 8,521 | 755 | +1028.6% | 3.1% |
| 9 | Sweden | 7,774 | 190 | +3991.6% | 2.9% |
| 10 | Italy | 6,602 | 1,020 | +547.3% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2022:
| Region | Occupancy 2022 | Occupancy 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 62.5% | 27.6% | +34.9 pp |
| Total | 53.3% | 24.3% | +29.0 pp |
| North | 47.8% | 25.6% | +22.2 pp |
| South | 46.8% | 22.5% | +24.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 45.7% | 24.5% | +21.2 pp |
| East | 45.0% | 15.2% | +29.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 37.4% | 17.7% | +19.7 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2022 was 20,028.2 million ISK (20.03 billion ISK), compared to 5,657.1 million ISK in May 2021.
This represents a +254.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 56,736 overnight stays in hotels in May 2022, down 11.9% from 64,431 in 2021.
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