According to the first figures, overnight stays at registered accommodations in the year 2023 were just under 10 million, compared with 8.5 million in 2022, which indicates a 16% increase between years. Icelandic overnights were 22% thereof, or 2.1 million, which is a 9% increase from the previous year. 78% of overnight stays were non-domestic, or around 7.8 million, compared with 6.6 in 2022.
Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses in 2023 were 6.6 million (thereof 5.3 million in hotels) and around 3.4 million in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, camping sites, etc.). Overnight stays in hotels were 5,257,800, which is a 12% increase from 2022. There was an increase in hotel accommodation in all regions in 2023.
In December 2023, there were 409,600 registered overnight stays in Iceland, which is a 3% increase from December 2022 (421,000). Foreign overnight stays were 81% of overnight stays, or 329,900, which is a 1% decrease from the previous year (333,300). Domestic overnight stays were 79,800, which is a 9% decrease from December last year (87,700). Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 332,800, while 76,800 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, etc.).
There were 294,900 overnight stays in hotels in December, which is a 7% decrease from the previous year. There was a decrease in the Southwest and Capital regions, whereas there was an increase in other parts of the country. Foreign overnight stays were 239,400, or 81% of overnight stays, while domestic overnight stays were 55,600 (19%). Foreign overnight stays decreased by 5% and domestic overnights decreased by 13%.
The supply of hotel bedrooms was relatively unchanged from December 2022, whereas the occupancy rate was 46.8% and increased by 4 percentage points.
It is estimated that there were around 1,508,000 foreign overnight stays through Airbnb in the year 2023. Additionally, there were 84,200 foreign overnight stays in camper vans outside of registered campsites, and 281,000 with friends and relatives. In December, there were 73,000 estimated overnight stays through Airbnb, 21,000 with friends and relatives, and 6,000 in camper vans outside of registered campsites.
All numbers for 2023 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for December 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.