In April 2022, there were 459,000 overnight stays in Iceland compared with 84,900 in April 2021. Domestic overnight stays were 28% thereof, or 127,000, and the foreign were 332,000 (72%). There was more than fivefold increase in overnight stays between years, driven by an increase in overnight stays of foreign travellers. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 346,000 (thereof 297,300 in hotels), while 113,000 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, etc.).
There were 297,300 overnight stays in hotels in April, characterised by an increase in all regions from April 2021. The greatest increase was in the Capital and East regions. Overnight stays of Icelanders in hotels were 79,000, or 27% of overnight stays in hotels, whereas overnight stays of foreign travellers were 218,300, or 73%.
In the 12-month period from May 2021 to April 2022, the number of overnight stays in hotels was 3,343,300, which is a fourfold increase from the prior 12-month period. There was a marked increase in all regions.
The number of hotel bedrooms increased by 54% in April 2022 compared with April the year before. Occupancy rate for hotel rooms was 48.7%, which is an increase of 34.7 percentage points from April 2021.
Methods
Data collection for the border study managed by Statistics Iceland and the Icelandic Tourist Board resumed in June after a break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Methodology for estimating unpaid overnight stays and overnight stays in home accommodation through peer-to-peer websites is currently under review and is expected to be reintroduced in the coming months.
All numbers for 2022 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for April 2022. 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.