Summary
September 2025 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 494,532 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 444,392 in September 2024—a +11.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 81.6%, up 2.8 percentage points from 78.8% in 2024. Foreign card spending totaled 36.6 billion ISK (-2.7% YoY).
September 2025 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 3,838,777, up 12.4% on the same period of 2024. Within 2025, September ranked 3rd 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 16.6%. Compared with September 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, foreign nights were up 24.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 36.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 53.0%. Hotel occupancy of 81.6% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; at this level most hotels in the capital are effectively full on peak nights. 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 2025, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2025 | Nights 2024 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 181,377 | 179,704 | +0.9% | 36.7% |
| 2 | Germany | 42,573 | 37,876 | +12.4% | 8.6% |
| 3 | China | 38,020 | 21,196 | +79.4% | 7.7% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 31,330 | 26,646 | +17.6% | 6.3% |
| 5 | Other Asian countries | 18,052 | 12,911 | +39.8% | 3.7% |
| 6 | Spain | 17,943 | 14,998 | +19.6% | 3.6% |
| 7 | Canada | 16,663 | 15,094 | +10.4% | 3.4% |
| 8 | France | 12,832 | 13,809 | -7.1% | 2.6% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 11,988 | 12,152 | -1.3% | 2.4% |
| 10 | Italy | 11,981 | 13,065 | -8.3% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2025:
| Region | Occupancy 2025 | Occupancy 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | 85.6% | 83.0% | +2.6 pp |
| Capital Region | 84.4% | 82.7% | +1.7 pp |
| Total | 81.6% | 78.8% | +2.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 81.2% | 80.8% | +0.4 pp |
| North | 77.7% | 68.9% | +8.8 pp |
| East | 75.2% | 68.4% | +6.8 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 62.7% | 60.2% | +2.5 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2025 was 36,645.45 million ISK (36.65 billion ISK), compared to 37,672.13 million ISK in September 2024.
This represents a -2.7% 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 49,506 overnight stays in hotels in September 2025, down 27.7% from 68,477 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