In March 2024, there were 649,000 registered overnight stays in Iceland, which is a 1.5% increase from March 2023 (639,000). Overnight stays at hotels were 428,200, which is a 1.1% increase from March last year.
Foreign overnight stays were 79% of overnight stays, or 513,000, which is a 0.8% increase from March 2023 (509,000). Domestic overnight stays were 136,000, which is a 4.5% increase from the previous year (130,000). Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 505,000 while 144,000 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages etc.).
There were 428,200 overnight stays in hotels in March, which is a 1.1% increase from the previous year (423,600). There was an increase in the South (7,8%) and West and Westfjords regions (7,4%), while there was a particularly strong decrease in the Southwest (-12.7%) and East regions (-10.1%). Overnight stays in the Capital region were relatively unchanged between years.
Foreign overnight stays at hotels were 343,100, or 80.1% of overnight stays, while domestic overnight stays were 85,100 (19.9%). Foreign overnight stays decreased by 0.9% from last year, while domestic overnight stays increased by 9.8%.
When considering the increase in domestic overnight stays from March last year, it should be noted that Easter was in April in 2023 but in March in 2024.
The supply of hotel bedrooms increased by 2.3% from March 2023, while the occupancy rate for hotel rooms decreased by 1.8 percentage points. There was a slight increase in occupancy rates in the South and the West and Westfjords regions. In other regions, there was a decrease in occupancy rates, particularly in the East region (-8.2).
In March, there were 90,000 estimated overnight stays through Airbnb, 11,000 with friends and relatives, and 2,000 in camper vans outside of registered campsites.
All numbers for 2023 and 2024 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for March 2024. 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.