In July 2023, there were 1,606,000 registered overnight stays in Iceland, which is a 0.4% increase from July 2022 (1,599,300). There was a 1.4% decrease in overnight stays in hotels.
Foreign overnight stays were 72% of overnight stays, or 1,159,000, which is a 1.5% increase from the previous year (1,141,800). Domestic overnight stays were 447,000, which is a 2.3% decrease from the previous year (457,500). Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 798,000 while 808,000 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, campsites etc.). Furthermore, it is estimated that foreign overnight stays in unregistered home accommodation in July were around 220,000.
There were 586,400 overnight stays in hotels in July, which is a 1.4% decrease from the previous year (594,900). There was an increase in overnight stays in hotels in the East and South regions compared with July 2022, whereas there was decrease in all other regions. The greatest decrease was in the Southwest region, or 22.5%, which may partly be explained by the capacity having in part been taken up for long term rental.
Foreign overnight stays at hotels were 485,500, or 83% of overnight stays at hotels, while domestic overnight stays were 101,000 (17%). Foreign overnight stays decreased by 1.1% whereas domestic overnights decreased by 3.0%.
Compared with July of the previous year, the supply of hotel bedrooms was relatively unchanged. Occupancy rate for hotel rooms decreased by 1.9 percentage points from July 2022. The greatest decrease was in the Capital and North regions.
Foreign overnight stays in home accommodation through Airbnb in July are estimated to have been around 220,000. Overnight stays in camper vans other than in camping areas were around 26,000, while there were 38,000 staying with friends, relatives or through home exchange.
A border study has been carried out at Keflavík Airport by the Icelandic Tourist Board and Statistics Iceland since July 2017 and Statistics Iceland publishes the estimated number of unregistered foreign overnight based on its results. Therein were estimates for overnight stays in homestays brokered through Airbnb, as well as overnight stays in campers and caravans outside paid camping areas and with friends and relatives. Due to the large decrease in the number of departures from Keflavík Airport following the Covid-19 pandemic, the border study was suspended from July 2020 to July 2021, and these estimations were discontinued in the summer of 2020.
All numbers for 2023 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for July 2023. Due to abrupt changes in supply and occupancy rates, estimation for other types of accommodation than hotels is currently subject to a higher degree of uncertainty than usual and should therefore be taken with a special precaution until final numbers are available.