Summary
November 2024 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 324,859 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 312,394 in November 2023—a +4.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 61.8%, up 3.2 percentage points from 58.6% in 2023. Foreign card spending totaled 21.0 billion ISK (+12.7% YoY).
November 2024 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 4,175,978, down 3.6% on the same period of 2023. Within 2024, November ranked 9th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for November over the five preceding years (excluding the pandemic years 2020 and 2021), this month came in ahead by 13.0%. Compared with November 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 13.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 31.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 58.9%. Hotel occupancy of 61.8% 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 November 2024, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2024 | Nights 2023 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 101,930 | 94,418 | +8.0% | 31.4% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 71,834 | 85,614 | -16.1% | 22.1% |
| 3 | China | 17,596 | 11,367 | +54.8% | 5.4% |
| 4 | Germany | 17,045 | 18,902 | -9.8% | 5.2% |
| 5 | Other Asian countries | 16,474 | 11,691 | +40.9% | 5.1% |
| 6 | France | 10,997 | 10,758 | +2.2% | 3.4% |
| 7 | Spain | 9,372 | 7,514 | +24.7% | 2.9% |
| 8 | Italy | 7,518 | 6,294 | +19.4% | 2.3% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 6,597 | 7,328 | -10.0% | 2.0% |
| 10 | Other South and Central American countries | 6,238 | 3,373 | +84.9% | 1.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2024:
| Region | Occupancy 2024 | Occupancy 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 75.5% | 74.5% | +1.0 pp |
| Total | 61.8% | 58.6% | +3.2 pp |
| South | 61.3% | 58.7% | +2.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 59.7% | 53.7% | +6.0 pp |
| East | 34.2% | 24.1% | +10.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 34.1% | 32.8% | +1.3 pp |
| North | 30.4% | 24.7% | +5.7 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2024 was 20,965.78 million ISK (20.97 billion ISK), compared to 18,604.17 million ISK in November 2023.
This represents a +12.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 65,847 overnight stays in hotels in November 2024, up 29.0% from 51,058 in 2023.
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