Summary
September 2021 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 290,313 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 19,464 in September 2020—a +1391.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 63.4%, up 47.8 percentage points from 15.6% in 2020. Foreign card spending totaled 19.4 billion ISK (+751.8% YoY).
September 2021 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 1,152,316, up 19.4% on the same period of 2020. Within 2021, September ranked 3rd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 14.7%. Compared with September 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were down 26.8%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 35.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 58.1%. Hotel occupancy of 63.4% 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 2021, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2021 | Nights 2020 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 101,833 | 4,078 | +2397.1% | 35.1% |
| 2 | Germany | 42,073 | 3,759 | +1019.3% | 14.5% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 24,794 | 1,920 | +1191.4% | 8.5% |
| 4 | Italy | 12,382 | 867 | +1328.1% | 4.3% |
| 5 | Spain | 12,173 | 864 | +1308.9% | 4.2% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 10,284 | 521 | +1873.9% | 3.5% |
| 7 | France | 9,984 | 1,032 | +867.4% | 3.4% |
| 8 | Denmark | 9,457 | 1,004 | +841.9% | 3.3% |
| 9 | Other South and Central American countries | 8,588 | 69 | +12346.4% | 3.0% |
| 10 | Israel | 8,307 | 18 | +46050.0% | 2.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2021:
| Region | Occupancy 2021 | Occupancy 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 66.9% | 20.6% | +46.3 pp |
| Reykjanes | 65.1% | 25.7% | +39.4 pp |
| East | 64.7% | 18.6% | +46.1 pp |
| South | 64.2% | 13.4% | +50.8 pp |
| Total | 63.4% | 15.6% | +47.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 63.3% | 13.0% | +50.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 54.8% | 16.2% | +38.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2021 was 19,382.78 million ISK (19.38 billion ISK), compared to 2,275.63 million ISK in September 2020.
This represents a +751.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 82,473 overnight stays in hotels in September 2021, up 77.2% from 46,540 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