Overnight stays in hotels in November 2017 were 304,000, which is the same as in November last year. Around 69% of all overnight stays were in the Capital region, or 210,000, which is a 4% decrease compared with the previous year. The number of overnight stays increased in the North (15%), Southwest (12%) and South (10%) regions.
Nights spent by foreign tourists accounted for 89% of the total number of overnight stays in November. Overnight stays of foreign tourists decreased by 1% from November 2016, while overnight stays of Icelanders increased by 7%. UK residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (86,500), then the USA (74,900) and Germany (11,900). Overnight stays of Icelanders in November were 33,800.
Over the last twelve months, from December 2016 to November 2017, overnight stays in hotels were 4,251,000, which is an increase of approximately 13% compared with the previous year.
63% occupancy rate for bedrooms in November 2017
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 62.9% in November 2017, which is a decrease of 5.0 percentage points from November 2016, when it was 67.9%. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 5.1%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms was highest in the Capital area, or 80.5%.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| November | December–November | |||||
| 2016 | 2017 | % | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | % | |
| Total | 303,831 | 304,035 | 0 | 3,761,142 | 4,251,190 | 13 |
| Capital region | 218,224 | 209,989 | -4 | 2,380,914 | 2,598,145 | 9 |
| Southwest | 18,953 | 21,145 | 12 | 197,954 | 296,781 | 50 |
| West and Westfjords | 8,348 | 8,355 | 0 | 170,734 | 190,415 | 12 |
| Northwest and Northeast | 10,491 | 12,070 | 15 | 281,652 | 296,375 | 5 |
| East | 2,960 | 2,962 | 0 | 107,520 | 108,185 | 1 |
| South | 44,855 | 49,514 | 10 | 622,368 | 761,289 | 22 |
| Icelanders | 31,685 | 33,797 | 7 | 395,962 | 427,923 | 8 |
| Foreign visitors | 272,146 | 270,238 | -1 | 3,365,180 | 3,823,267 | 14 |
The above data only show overnight stays in hotels that are operating for the whole year. Guesthouses and summer hotels are not included.
Numbers for 2017 are preliminary. Statistics Iceland is currently reviewing methods for evaluating data on overnight stays with respect to nationalities of tourists. This does not affect the number of overnight stays, but might affect the distribution with respect to Icelanders vs. non-residents. The reviewing will be completed before the final publication of overnight stays for all types of accommodation for 2017.