Summary
October 2021 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 294,723 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 13,731 in October 2020—a +2046.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 61.7%, up 51.5 percentage points from 10.2% in 2020. Foreign card spending totaled 15.3 billion ISK (+814.1% YoY).
October 2021 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 1,447,039, up 47.8% on the same period of 2020. Within 2021, October ranked 2nd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for October over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 6.6%. Compared with October 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 22.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 37.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 65.5%. Hotel occupancy of 61.7% 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 October 2021, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2021 | Nights 2020 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 110,589 | 4,486 | +2365.2% | 37.5% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 48,348 | 1,335 | +3521.6% | 16.4% |
| 3 | Germany | 34,224 | 1,304 | +2524.5% | 11.6% |
| 4 | France | 11,645 | 584 | +1894.0% | 4.0% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 11,056 | 160 | +6810.0% | 3.8% |
| 6 | Spain | 10,309 | 340 | +2932.1% | 3.5% |
| 7 | Denmark | 9,882 | 441 | +2140.8% | 3.4% |
| 8 | Italy | 8,248 | 734 | +1023.7% | 2.8% |
| 9 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 6,250 | 274 | +2181.0% | 2.1% |
| 10 | Canada | 4,177 | 382 | +993.5% | 1.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2021:
| Region | Occupancy 2021 | Occupancy 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 71.9% | 9.2% | +62.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 66.4% | 19.1% | +47.3 pp |
| Total | 61.7% | 10.2% | +51.5 pp |
| South | 57.3% | 7.1% | +50.2 pp |
| North | 46.1% | 11.5% | +34.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 40.4% | 10.0% | +30.4 pp |
| East | 37.1% | 12.9% | +24.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2021 was 15,334.2 million ISK (15.33 billion ISK), compared to 1,677.45 million ISK in October 2020.
This represents a +814.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 74,690 overnight stays in hotels in October 2021, up 171.7% from 27,486 in 2020.
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