In May 2016, overnight stays in hotels were 273,700 which is an increase of 25% compared with May 2015. Nights spent by foreign tourists accounted for 88% of the total number of overnight stays in May and increased by 29% compared with May 2015. At the same time, the overnight stays of Icelanders increased by 4%.
In the capital region, the number of overnight stays was 169,600, which is a 22% increase compared with May 2015. Around 62% of all overnight stays were in the capital region, followed by overnight stays in the South region, which were 42,300. Overseas residents with the most overnight stays in Iceland in May were from the USA (65,000), Germany (35,500), and UK (30,400).
For the last twelve months, from June 2015 to May 2016, overnight stays in hotels were 3,150,700, which is an increase of around 28% compared with the previous year.
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels in May 2016 was 65,5%
In May the occupancy rate for bedrooms was highest in the capital region, or 79,2%.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| May | June - May | |||||
| 2015 | 2016 | % | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | % | |
| Total | 219,006 | 273,701 | 25 | 2,467,040 | 3,150,733 | 28 |
| Capital region | 139,520 | 169,628 | 22 | 1,643,050 | 2,061,240 | 25 |
| Southwest | 11,658 | 11,496 | -1 | 120,872 | 145,511 | 20 |
| West and Westfjords | 11,165 | 15,184 | 36 | 109,239 | 132,868 | 22 |
| Northwest and Northeast | 14,959 | 23,321 | 56 | 169,540 | 216,238 | 28 |
| East | 10,008 | 11,803 | 18 | 83,789 | 130,496 | 56 |
| South | 31,696 | 42,269 | 33 | 340,550 | 464,380 | 36 |
| Icelanders | 31,257 | 32,353 | 4 | 329,775 | 345,901 | 5 |
| Foreign visitors | 187,749 | 241,348 | 29 | 2,137,265 | 2,804,832 | 31 |
The data above only show overnight stays in hotels that are operating for the whole year. Guesthouses and summer hotels are not included in this category.