Overnight stays in all accommodation in July 2019 were 1,558,000, compared with 1,576,000 in July last year. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 716,800, thereof 492.400 in hotels and 224.400 in guesthouses. Overnight stays in apartments, youth hostels, campsites etc. were 599,000, and overnight stays through websites such as Airbnb were approximately 242,000.
The number of overnight stays decreased by 1% from July last year. There was a 1.7% increase in hotels and guesthouses, 5.1% decrease in private accommodation through Airbnb etc., and 3.0% decrease in other types of accommodation.
1% increase in overnight stays at hotels
Overnight stays in hotels in July 2019 were 492,400, which is a 1% increase from July last year. There was a 5% decrease in the Capital area while the number of overnight stays either increased or stayed the same in other parts of the country. Almost half of overnight stays at hotels were in the Capital area, 232,500.
Over a twelve month period from August 2018 to July 2019, the total number of overnight stays in hotels was 4,400,000, which is a 1% increase from the preceding 12 month period.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| July | August-July | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | % | |
| Total | 486,790 | 492,358 | 1 | 4,350,462 | 4,400,254 | 1 |
| Capital region | 243,516 | 232,552 | -5 | 2,592,018 | 2,504,004 | -3 |
| Southwest | 33,693 | 37,177 | 10 | 297,268 | 305,577 | 3 |
| West and Westfjords | 35,911 | 36,030 | 0 | 213,768 | 247,947 | 16 |
| Northwest and Northe | 47,836 | 53,292 | 11 | 304,867 | 337,877 | 11 |
| East | 19,206 | 20,471 | 7 | 103,893 | 110,276 | 6 |
| South | 106,628 | 112,836 | 6 | 838,648 | 894,573 | 7 |
| Citizenship | ||||||
| Icelanders | 44,321 | 37,393 | -16 | 449,875 | 418,482 | -7 |
| Foreign visitors | 442,469 | 454,965 | 3 | 3,900,587 | 3,981,772 | 2 |
In July 2014, hotel room availability was 6,200 rooms. In July 2019 it was 10,800, which is a 74% increase. In July 2009 there were 4,600 rooms and have since increased by 133%.
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 80.8% in July 2019, and decreased by 1.9 percentage points from July 2018, when it was 82.7%. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 3.4%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms in July was highest in the Southwest (88.0%).
| Supply and occupancy rates of hotel bedrooms in July | ||||||
| Number of Hotel bedrooms in July | Room occupancy rate in July | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2018 | 2019 | pp | |
| Total | 10,436 | 10,794 | 3.4% | 82.7% | 80.8% | -1.9 |
| Capital region | 5,139 | 5,237 | 1.9% | 84.3% | 80.1% | -4.2 |
| Southwest | 627 | 695 | 10.8% | 91.3% | 88.0% | -3.3 |
| West and Westfjords | 827 | 850 | 2.8% | 77.3% | 73.8% | -3.5 |
| North | 1,172 | 1,216 | 3.8% | 73.8% | 78.3% | 4.6 |
| East | 439 | 441 | 0.5% | 79.1% | 80.8% | 1.7 |
| South | 2,232 | 2,355 | 5.5% | 84.1% | 83.9% | -0.1 |
Nights spent by foreign tourists in hotels were 455,000, which accounted for 92% of the total number of overnight stays in July. USA residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (148,700), then residents of Germany (52,600) and China (31,400). Overnight stays of Icelanders in July were 37,400.
Additionally, overnight stays in cars other than at campsites were 36,000 and the number of overnight stays with friends and relatives, through exchanges or in other places where no payment was made, were 41,000. Estimates of unregistered overnight stays are temporary and subject to change when further information are available, such as on VAT turnover, supply and occupancy rates of establishments offering accommodation through Airbnb.
All numbers for 2019 are preliminary.