The number of overnight stays in Iceland in May increased by 104.0% compared with the same month last year. Thereof, overnight stays in hotels increased by 173.6%, in guesthouses by 55.6% and in other types of accommodation (youth hostels, cottages, etc.) by 51.6%.
Overnight stays in all accommodation in May 2021 were 181,800 compared with 89,100 in May 2020. Icelanders accounted for 60% of all overnight stays, or 108,400, whereas foreign visitors accounted for 40%, or 73,400 stays. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 135,700, thereof 102,800 in hotels and 46.100 overnight stays were in other types of accommodation.
The number of hotel bedrooms decreased by 5.7% in May 2021 compared with May the year before. Occupancy rate for hotel rooms was 25.7% in May 2021, which is an increase of 16.7 percentage points from May 2020.
There were 102,800 overnight stays in hotels in May and their number increased in all regions from May 2020. The greatest increase was in the Capital region, from 8,700 to 42,700 between years.
| Overnight stays, supply and occupancy in hotels | ||||||
| May | June - May | |||||
| Overnight stays in hotels | 2020 | 2021 | % | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | % |
| Total | 37,583 | 102,843 | 174% | 3,788,015 | 914,526 | -76% |
| Capital region | 8,667 | 42,719 | 393% | 2,094,141 | 290,992 | -86% |
| Southwest | 1,905 | 7,032 | 269% | 331,268 | 75,110 | -77% |
| West and Westfjords | 7,236 | 10,758 | 49% | 215,869 | 103,843 | -52% |
| Northwest and Northeast | 7,651 | 14,966 | 96% | 281,888 | 178,594 | -37% |
| East | 1,745 | 2,395 | 37% | 101,564 | 49,482 | -51% |
| South | 10,379 | 24,973 | 141% | 763,285 | 216,505 | -72% |
| Citizenship | ||||||
| Icelanders | 34,351 | 64,668 | 88% | 397,701 | 609,280 | 53% |
| Foreign visitors | 3,232 | 38,175 | 1081% | 3,390,314 | 305,246 | -91% |
| Number of hotel rooms in May | Room occupancy rate in May | |||||
| Supply and occupancy rates of hotel rooms | 2020 | 2021 | % | 2020 | 2021 | pp |
| Total | 7,881 | 7,434 | -6% | 9.0% | 25.7% | 16.7 |
| Capital region | 3,262 | 2,628 | -19% | 5.2% | 31.3% | 26.1 |
| Southwest | 677 | 751 | 11% | 6.6% | 18.4% | 11.8 |
| West and Westfjords | 833 | 760 | -9% | 15.6% | 25.0% | 9.4 |
| Northwest and Northeast | 996 | 1,066 | 7% | 14.5% | 25.6% | 11.1 |
| East | 441 | 300 | -32% | 7.9% | 15.1% | 7.2 |
| South | 1,672 | 1,929 | 15% | 11.3% | 22.7% | 11.4 |
Overnight stays of Icelanders in hotels were 64,700, or 63% of overnight stays in hotels, whereas overnight stays of foreign tourists were 38,100 or 37%.
In the 12-month period from June 2020 to May 2021, the number of overnight stays in hotels was 914,500, which is a 76% decrease from the prior 12-month period. The greatest decrease was in the Capital region, or 86%.
Methods
Due to a severe decrease in departures from Keflavík Airport, data collection for the border study managed by Statistics Iceland and the Icelandic Tourist Board has been ceased temporarily and will not be continued until the situation improves. Until then, Statistics Iceland will not publish estimates of unpaid overnight stays and overnight stays in home accommodation through peer-to-peer websites.
All numbers for 2021 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for May 2021. 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.