Summary
October 2019 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 378,966 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 361,475 in October 2018—a +4.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 68.5%, down 1.7 percentage points from 70.2% in 2018. Foreign card spending totaled 17.5 billion ISK (-11.5% YoY).
October 2019 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 3,533,637, up 1.7% on the same period of 2018. Within 2019, October ranked 5th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for October over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 40.5%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 31.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 56.0%. Hotel occupancy of 68.5% 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 October 2019, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2019 | Nights 2018 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 120,429 | 125,912 | -4.4% | 31.8% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 58,585 | 63,528 | -7.8% | 15.5% |
| 3 | China | 33,044 | 24,220 | +36.4% | 8.7% |
| 4 | Germany | 28,300 | 22,642 | +25.0% | 7.5% |
| 5 | France | 16,549 | 10,002 | +65.5% | 4.4% |
| 6 | Other Asian countries | 13,686 | 14,152 | -3.3% | 3.6% |
| 7 | Denmark | 11,143 | 7,637 | +45.9% | 2.9% |
| 8 | Spain | 10,387 | 9,073 | +14.5% | 2.7% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 9,106 | 6,682 | +36.3% | 2.4% |
| 10 | Canada | 7,558 | 10,755 | -29.7% | 2.0% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2019:
| Region | Occupancy 2019 | Occupancy 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 77.5% | 79.3% | -1.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 70.3% | 83.0% | -12.7 pp |
| Total | 68.5% | 70.2% | -1.7 pp |
| South | 68.3% | 65.6% | +2.7 pp |
| North | 51.2% | 52.4% | -1.2 pp |
| East | 48.4% | 42.4% | +6.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 46.5% | 51.7% | -5.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2019 was 17,515.49 million ISK (17.52 billion ISK), compared to 19,793.28 million ISK in October 2018.
This represents a -11.5% 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 39,639 overnight stays in hotels in October 2019, up 7.6% from 36,838 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