Summary
September 2019 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 396,721 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 396,112 in September 2018—a +0.2% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 73.8%, down 4.1 percentage points from 77.9% in 2018. Foreign card spending totaled 22.4 billion ISK (-8.8% YoY).
September 2019 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 3,154,671, up 1.4% on the same period of 2018. Within 2019, September ranked 3rd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 34.9%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 35.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 52.3%. Hotel occupancy of 73.8% 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 September 2019, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2019 | Nights 2018 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 138,723 | 159,775 | -13.2% | 35.0% |
| 2 | Germany | 35,921 | 31,268 | +14.9% | 9.1% |
| 3 | China | 32,862 | 33,257 | -1.2% | 8.3% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 31,378 | 32,170 | -2.5% | 7.9% |
| 5 | France | 14,205 | 9,096 | +56.2% | 3.6% |
| 6 | Spain | 13,147 | 11,181 | +17.6% | 3.3% |
| 7 | Canada | 11,725 | 12,987 | -9.7% | 3.0% |
| 8 | Other Asian countries | 11,148 | 11,300 | -1.3% | 2.8% |
| 9 | Denmark | 10,957 | 8,186 | +33.9% | 2.8% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 9,519 | 7,483 | +27.2% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2019:
| Region | Occupancy 2019 | Occupancy 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 79.3% | 90.0% | -10.7 pp |
| Capital Region | 78.6% | 81.9% | -3.3 pp |
| Total | 73.8% | 77.9% | -4.1 pp |
| South | 73.4% | 74.2% | -0.8 pp |
| East | 64.2% | 64.2% | +0.0 pp |
| North | 62.9% | 68.3% | -5.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 60.3% | 74.6% | -14.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2019 was 22,392.6 million ISK (22.39 billion ISK), compared to 24,559.84 million ISK in September 2018.
This represents a -8.8% 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 37,485 overnight stays in hotels in September 2019, up 6.2% from 35,303 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