In September 2023, there were 1,030,000 registered overnight stays in Iceland, which is a 6% increase from September 2022 (970,400). Overnight stays in hotels were 520,900, which is a 6% increase from September 2022.
Foreign overnight stays were 82% of overnight stays, or 843,000, which is a 9% increase from the previous year (775,400). Domestic overnight stays were 187,000, which is a 4% decrease from the previous year (195,000). Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 685,000 while 345,000 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, campsites etc.). Furthermore, it is estimated that foreign overnight stays in unregistered home accommodation in September were around 180,000.
There were 520,900 overnight stays in hotels in September, which is a 6% increase from the previous year (491,800). There was an increase in overnight stays in hotels in all regions compared with September 2022. The greatest increase was in the South region (15%) and the North region (11%). In the Capital region, the number of overnight stays was 239,000, which was a 1.1% increase from 2022.
Foreign overnight stays at hotels were 435,600, or 84% of overnight stays, while domestic overnight stays were 85,300 (16%). Foreign overnight stays increased by 9.1% whereas domestic overnights decreased by 7.9%.
Compared with September of the previous year, there was a 0.2% increase in the supply of hotel bedrooms, whereas occupancy rate for hotel rooms increased by 4.1 percentage points. There was an increase in occupancy rates in all regions, the greatest increase being 13.1 percentage points in the Southwest region.
Foreign overnight stays in home accommodation through Airbnb in September are estimated to have been around 180,000. Overnight stays in camper vans other than in camping areas were around 13,000, while there were 28,000 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 September 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.
All numbers for 2023 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for September 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.