The number of overnight stays in Iceland in June increased by 64% compared with the same month last year. Thereof, overnight stays in hotels increased by 108%, in guesthouses by 62% and in other types of accommodation (campsites, cottages, etc.) by 37%. Compared with June 2019, there has been a 57% decrease in overnight stays, reflecting the volatile condition of the past 2 years. Thereof, there was a 55% decrease in hotels, 43% decrease in guesthouses, and 45% decrease in other types of accommodation.
Overnight stays in all accommodation in June 2021 were 479,000 compared with 293,000 in June 2020. Icelanders accounted for 46% of all overnight stays, or 223,000, whereas foreign visitors accounted for 54%, or 256,000 stays. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 276,000 (thereof 188,000 in hotels), and 203.000 overnight stays were in other types of accommodation.
The number of hotel bedrooms decreased by 6% in June 2021 compared with June the year before. Occupancy rate for hotel rooms was 40.3% in June 2021, which is an increase of 19.5 percentage points from June 2020.
There were 188,000 overnight stays in hotels in June and their number increased in all regions from June 2020, except for the East region, where there was a 3% decrease. The greatest increase was in the Capital region, where overnight stays quadrupled from 18,600 to 74,200 between years.
| Overnight stays, supply and occupancy in hotels | ||||||
| June | July - June | |||||
| Overnight stays in hotels | 2020 | 2021 | % | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | % |
| Total | 90,497 | 188,033 | 108% | 3,458,192 | 1,011,941 | -71% |
| Capital region | 18,558 | 74,166 | 300% | 1,901,913 | 346,371 | -82% |
| Southwest | 4,628 | 16,983 | 267% | 298,070 | 87,573 | -71% |
| West and Westfjords | 15,977 | 20,530 | 28% | 203,852 | 108,396 | -47% |
| Northwest and Northeast | 19,066 | 28,416 | 49% | 259,684 | 187,944 | -28% |
| East | 7,198 | 7,009 | -3% | 93,011 | 49,293 | -47% |
| South | 25,070 | 40,929 | 63% | 701,662 | 232,364 | -67% |
| Citizenship | ||||||
| Icelanders | 75,372 | 82,583 | 10% | 434,909 | 616,626 | 42% |
| Foreign visitors | 15,125 | 105,450 | 597% | 3,023,283 | 395,315 | -87% |
| Number of hotel rooms in June | Room occupancy rate in June | |||||
| Supply and occupancy rates of hotel rooms | 2020 | 2021 | % | 2020 | 2021 | pp |
| Total | 8,316 | 8,794 | 6% | 20.8% | 40.3% | 19.5 |
| Capital region | 3,116 | 3,277 | 5% | 12.0% | 44.8% | 32.8 |
| Southwest | 773 | 880 | 14% | 13.7% | 36.3% | 22.5 |
| West and Westfjords | 866 | 849 | -2% | 33.6% | 44.3% | 10.7 |
| Northwest and Northeast | 1,121 | 1,187 | 6% | 31.9% | 44.4% | 12.5 |
| East | 417 | 439 | 5% | 32.0% | 28.8% | -3.2 |
| South | 2,023 | 2,162 | 7% | 23.0% | 33.5% | 10.5 |
Overnight stays of Icelanders in hotels were 82,600, or 44% of overnight stays in hotels, whereas overnight stays of foreign tourists were 105,450 or 56%. There was a sevenfold increase in foreign overnight stays between years, whereas Icelandic overnight stays increased by 10%.
In the 12-month period from July 2020 to June 2021, the number of overnight stays in hotels was 1,012,000, which is a 71% decrease from the prior 12-month period. The greatest decrease was in the Capital region, or 82%.
Methods
Data collection for the border study managed by Statistics Iceland and the Icelandic Tourist Board began again in June after a break due to Covid-19. Methodology for estimating unpaid overnight stays and overnight stays in home accommodation through peer-to-peer websites is currently under review and is being planned for reintroduction in the coming winter.
All numbers for 2021 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for June 2021. 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.