Summary
May 2023 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 356,087 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 272,405 in May 2022—a +30.7% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 65.8%, up 12.5 percentage points from 53.3% in 2022. Foreign card spending totaled 27.2 billion ISK (+35.9% YoY).
May 2023 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 1,626,813, up 41.0% on the same period of 2022. Within 2023, May ranked 7th 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 33.0%. Compared with May 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 28.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 34.3% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 54.2%. Hotel occupancy of 65.8% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 2023, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2023 | Nights 2022 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 122,012 | 85,052 | +43.5% | 34.3% |
| 2 | Germany | 38,959 | 36,947 | +5.4% | 10.9% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 32,074 | 29,223 | +9.8% | 9.0% |
| 4 | France | 21,337 | 16,917 | +26.1% | 6.0% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 16,126 | 13,178 | +22.4% | 4.5% |
| 6 | Denmark | 11,144 | 12,223 | -8.8% | 3.1% |
| 7 | Norway | 10,027 | 8,604 | +16.5% | 2.8% |
| 8 | Sweden | 9,682 | 7,774 | +24.5% | 2.7% |
| 9 | Canada | 9,444 | 6,509 | +45.1% | 2.7% |
| 10 | Other Asian countries | 7,580 | 2,791 | +171.6% | 2.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2023:
| Region | Occupancy 2023 | Occupancy 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 70.3% | 62.5% | +7.8 pp |
| South | 67.4% | 46.8% | +20.6 pp |
| Total | 65.8% | 53.3% | +12.5 pp |
| Reykjanes | 65.0% | 37.4% | +27.6 pp |
| East | 61.0% | 45.0% | +16.0 pp |
| North | 55.8% | 47.8% | +8.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 51.8% | 45.7% | +6.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2023 was 27,218.86 million ISK (27.22 billion ISK), compared to 20,028.2 million ISK in May 2022.
This represents a +35.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 59,632 overnight stays in hotels in May 2023, up 5.1% from 56,736 in 2022.
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