In February 2022, there were 396,400 overnight stays in Iceland compared with 89,100 in February 2021. Domestic overnight stays were 26% thereof, or 104,500, and the foreign were 292,000 (74%).
There was more than fourfold increase in overnight stays between years, driven by an increase in overnight stays of foreign travellers. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 301,100 (thereof 271,200 in hotels), while 95,300 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, etc.). Compared with February 2020, there was a 17% decrease in overnight stays.
There were 271,200 overnight stays in hotels in February, characterised by an increase in all regions from February 2021. The greatest increase was in the Capital region.
Overnight stays of Icelanders in hotels were 62,600, or 23% of overnight stays in hotels, whereas overnight stays of foreign travellers were 208,700, or 77%.
In the 12-month period from March 2021 to February 2022, the number of overnight stays in hotels was 2,819,700, which is a threefold increase from the prior 12-month period. There was a marked increase in all regions.
The number of hotel bedrooms increased by 61% in February 2022 compared with February the year before. Occupancy rate for hotel rooms was 49.3%, which is an increase of 36.5 percentage points from February 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 and 2021 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for February 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.