Summary
November 2019 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 285,672 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 268,354 in November 2018—a +6.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 57.9%, up 0.5 percentage points from 57.4% in 2018. Foreign card spending totaled 13.4 billion ISK (-14.4% YoY).
November 2019 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 3,819,309, up 2.1% on the same period of 2018. Within 2019, November ranked 8th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for November over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 27.1%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 27.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 60.2%. Hotel occupancy of 57.9% 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 November 2019, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2019 | Nights 2018 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 79,256 | 82,682 | -4.1% | 27.7% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 73,527 | 75,177 | -2.2% | 25.7% |
| 3 | China | 19,329 | 13,942 | +38.6% | 6.8% |
| 4 | Germany | 15,227 | 12,196 | +24.9% | 5.3% |
| 5 | France | 11,824 | 6,878 | +71.9% | 4.1% |
| 6 | Other Asian countries | 10,473 | 12,764 | -17.9% | 3.7% |
| 7 | Denmark | 7,507 | 4,967 | +51.1% | 2.6% |
| 8 | Spain | 6,337 | 5,469 | +15.9% | 2.2% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 5,808 | 4,566 | +27.2% | 2.0% |
| 10 | Canada | 5,039 | 5,751 | -12.4% | 1.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2019:
| Region | Occupancy 2019 | Occupancy 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 76.2% | 76.9% | -0.7 pp |
| Total | 57.9% | 57.4% | +0.5 pp |
| South | 48.9% | 47.5% | +1.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 47.3% | 58.1% | -10.8 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 32.3% | 25.9% | +6.4 pp |
| North | 28.3% | 24.2% | +4.1 pp |
| East | 20.2% | 12.4% | +7.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2019 was 13,392.46 million ISK (13.39 billion ISK), compared to 15,641.42 million ISK in November 2018.
This represents a -14.4% year-over-year change. Despite growth in overnight stays in hotels, spending declined—possibly reflecting lower per-visitor expenditure or shifts in spending patterns.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 43,926 overnight stays in hotels in November 2019, up 14.3% from 38,414 in 2018.
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