Summary
October 2025 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 449,537 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 435,596 in October 2024—a +3.2% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 72.5%, down 4.7 percentage points from 77.2% in 2024. Foreign card spending totaled 27.3 billion ISK (-9.9% YoY).
October 2025 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 4,288,314, up 11.4% on the same period of 2024. Within 2025, October ranked 5th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for October over the five preceding years (excluding the pandemic years 2020 and 2021), this month came in ahead by 11.8%. Compared with October 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 18.6%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 30.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 54.5%. Hotel occupancy of 72.5% 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 2025, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2025 | Nights 2024 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 137,106 | 155,311 | -11.7% | 30.5% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 58,728 | 64,444 | -8.9% | 13.1% |
| 3 | China | 49,121 | 24,992 | +96.5% | 10.9% |
| 4 | Germany | 32,167 | 31,341 | +2.6% | 7.2% |
| 5 | Other Asian countries | 26,726 | 19,301 | +38.5% | 5.9% |
| 6 | Spain | 12,498 | 12,782 | -2.2% | 2.8% |
| 7 | France | 11,873 | 13,750 | -13.7% | 2.6% |
| 8 | Other South and Central American countries | 10,132 | 8,991 | +12.7% | 2.3% |
| 9 | Canada | 10,016 | 10,667 | -6.1% | 2.2% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 9,501 | 11,290 | -15.8% | 2.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2025:
| Region | Occupancy 2025 | Occupancy 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 80.7% | 86.4% | -5.7 pp |
| South | 76.4% | 82.8% | -6.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 74.7% | 74.1% | +0.6 pp |
| Total | 72.5% | 77.2% | -4.7 pp |
| North | 54.6% | 57.4% | -2.8 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 48.5% | 53.2% | -4.7 pp |
| East | 46.7% | 44.1% | +2.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2025 was 27,305.41 million ISK (27.31 billion ISK), compared to 30,309.34 million ISK in October 2024.
This represents a -9.9% 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 53,841 overnight stays in hotels in October 2025, down 33.7% from 81,154 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