Summary
September 2022 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 423,579 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 290,313 in September 2021—a +45.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 78.3%, up 14.9 percentage points from 63.4% in 2021. Foreign card spending totaled 27.7 billion ISK (+42.7% YoY).
September 2022 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 3,044,131, up 164.2% on the same period of 2021. Within 2022, September ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years (excluding the pandemic years 2020 and 2021), this month came in ahead by 24.5%. Compared with September 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 6.8%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 36.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 57.6%. Hotel occupancy of 78.3% 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 2022, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2022 | Nights 2021 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 155,005 | 101,833 | +52.2% | 36.6% |
| 2 | Germany | 48,051 | 42,073 | +14.2% | 11.3% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 41,127 | 24,794 | +65.9% | 9.7% |
| 4 | France | 16,163 | 9,984 | +61.9% | 3.8% |
| 5 | Spain | 15,377 | 12,173 | +26.3% | 3.6% |
| 6 | Canada | 13,088 | 3,905 | +235.2% | 3.1% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 12,590 | 10,284 | +22.4% | 3.0% |
| 8 | Denmark | 12,358 | 9,457 | +30.7% | 2.9% |
| 9 | Italy | 11,807 | 12,382 | -4.6% | 2.8% |
| 10 | Israel | 10,234 | 8,307 | +23.2% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2022:
| Region | Occupancy 2022 | Occupancy 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | 81.9% | 64.2% | +17.7 pp |
| Capital Region | 81.8% | 63.3% | +18.5 pp |
| East | 79.7% | 64.7% | +15.0 pp |
| Total | 78.3% | 63.4% | +14.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 71.4% | 65.1% | +6.3 pp |
| North | 70.6% | 66.9% | +3.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 65.9% | 54.8% | +11.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2022 was 27,662.41 million ISK (27.66 billion ISK), compared to 19,382.78 million ISK in September 2021.
This represents a +42.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 68,223 overnight stays in hotels in September 2022, down 17.3% from 82,473 in 2021.
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