The number of overnight stays in November increased by 4.4% compared with the same month last year. There was a 5,3% increase in hotels, 2.3% decrease in guesthouses, 8.4% decrease in private accommodation through Airbnb etc. and 16.8% increase in other types of accommodation.
Overnight stays in all accommodation in November 2019 were 572,000, compared with 547,800 in November last year. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 381,800, thereof 323,000 in hotels. Overnight stays in apartments, youth hostels, campsites etc. were 114,200, and overnight stays through websites such as Airbnb were approximately 76,000.
5% increase in overnight stays at hotels
Overnight stays in hotels in November 2019 were 323,000, which is a 5% increase from November last year. There was an increase in all parts of the country, 3.6% in the Capital area and 8.6% in other parts. Around 65% of overnight stays in hotels were in the Capital area, or 211,300.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| November | December-November | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | % | |
| Total | 306,768 | 323,036 | 5 | 4,471,098 | 4,432,879 | -1 |
| Capital region | 203,886 | 211,307 | 4 | 2,602,209 | 2,513,897 | -3 |
| Southwest | 19,195 | 20,750 | 8 | 309,572 | 313,736 | 1 |
| West and Westfjords | 10,435 | 12,756 | 22 | 244,458 | 244,120 | 0 |
| Northwest and Northe | 13,733 | 15,679 | 14 | 316,642 | 340,152 | 7 |
| East | 2,502 | 3,520 | 41 | 101,789 | 117,214 | 15 |
| South | 57,017 | 59,024 | 4 | 896,428 | 903,760 | 1 |
| Citizenship | ||||||
| Icelanders | 38,414 | 41,339 | 8 | 456,621 | 429,532 | -6 |
| Foreign visitors | 268,354 | 281,697 | 5 | 4,014,477 | 4,003,347 | 0 |
Over a twelve month period from December 2018 to November 2019, the total number of overnight stays in hotels was 4,432,900, which is a 1% decrease from the preceding 12 month period.
Nights spent by foreign tourists in hotels were 281,700, which accounted for 87% of the total number of overnight stays in November. USA residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (78,500), then residents of the UK (72,800) and China (19,000). Overnight stays of Icelanders in November were 41,300.
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 57.4% in November 2019, and is unchanged between years. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 6.6%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms in November was highest in the Capital area (74.4%).
| Supply and occupancy rates of hotel bedrooms in November | ||||||
| Number of Hotel bedrooms in November | Room occupancy rate in November | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2018 | 2019 | pp | |
| Total | 10,103 | 10,766 | 6.6% | 57.5% | 57.4% | -0.2 |
| Capital region | 5,069 | 5,382 | 6.2% | 76.9% | 74.4% | -2.6 |
| Southwest | 627 | 829 | 32.2% | 58.1% | 46.1% | -12.0 |
| West and Westfjords | 731 | 757 | 3.6% | 26.6% | 32.6% | 6.0 |
| North | 1,104 | 1,171 | 6.1% | 24.2% | 28.2% | 4.0 |
| East | 394 | 360 | -8.6% | 12.4% | 20.2% | 7.8 |
| South | 2,178 | 2,267 | 4.1% | 47.8% | 50.5% | 2.7 |
Additionally, overnight stays in cars other than at campsites were 5,000 and the number of overnight stays with friends and relatives, through exchanges or in other places where no payment was made, were 17,000.
Methods
Methods for estimating unregistered overnight stays are under development. All 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.