Summary
May 2025 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 370,885 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 325,809 in May 2024—a +13.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 63.7%, up 4.8 percentage points from 58.9% in 2024. Foreign card spending totaled 28.6 billion ISK (+7.1% YoY).
May 2025 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 1,651,294, up 5.9% on the same period of 2024. Within 2025, May ranked 6th 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 23.2%. Compared with May 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 34.0%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 34.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 53.0%. Hotel occupancy of 63.7% 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 2025, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2025 | Nights 2024 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 128,578 | 109,321 | +17.6% | 34.7% |
| 2 | Germany | 38,328 | 38,299 | +0.1% | 10.3% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 29,552 | 25,953 | +13.9% | 8.0% |
| 4 | France | 19,569 | 20,359 | -3.9% | 5.3% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 15,538 | 18,792 | -17.3% | 4.2% |
| 6 | Canada | 14,860 | 9,995 | +48.7% | 4.0% |
| 7 | China | 12,717 | 8,513 | +49.4% | 3.4% |
| 8 | Denmark | 8,716 | 8,610 | +1.2% | 2.4% |
| 9 | Spain | 8,582 | 6,099 | +40.7% | 2.3% |
| 10 | Italy | 8,351 | 7,131 | +17.1% | 2.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2025:
| Region | Occupancy 2025 | Occupancy 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 69.1% | 64.2% | +4.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 68.2% | 57.3% | +10.9 pp |
| Total | 63.7% | 58.9% | +4.8 pp |
| South | 63.4% | 59.0% | +4.4 pp |
| East | 54.4% | 46.8% | +7.6 pp |
| North | 51.8% | 52.8% | -1.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 50.6% | 44.4% | +6.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2025 was 28,585.71 million ISK (28.59 billion ISK), compared to 26,690.94 million ISK in May 2024.
This represents a +7.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 57,507 overnight stays in hotels in May 2025, down 13.8% from 66,736 in 2024.
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