There were 362,000 overnight stays in Iceland in November 2021 compared with 55,000 in November 2020. Domestic overnight stays were 26% thereof, or 93,000, compared with 38,000 in the previous year. Foreign overnight stays were 269,000 compared with 17,000 in November 2020. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 290,000 (thereof 250,600 in hotels), while 72,000 were in other types of accommodation (apartments, cottages, etc.). Compared with November 2019, there was a 24% decrease in overnight stays. Thereof, there was a 24% decrease in hotels, 35% decrease in guesthouses and 18% decrease in other types of accommodation.
The number of hotel bedrooms increased by 71% in November 2021 compared with November the year before. Occupancy rate for hotel rooms was 42.3%, which is an increase of 34.1 percentage points from November 2020.
There were 250,600 overnight stays in hotels in November, characterised by an increase in all regions from November 2020. The greatest increase was in the Capital region.
Overnight stays of Icelanders in hotels were 56,700, or 23% of overnight stays in hotels, whereas overnight stays of foreign travellers were 193,900, or 77%.
In the 12 month period from December 2020 to November 2021, the number of overnight stays in hotels was 2,278,000, which is a 28% increase from the prior 12-month period. There was an increase in all regions.
Methods
Data collection for the border study managed by Statistics Iceland and the Icelandic Tourist Board resumed in June after a break due to Covid-19. Methodology for estimating unpaid overnight stays and overnight stays in home accommodation through peer-to-peer websites is currently under review and is expected to be reintroduced in the coming months.
All numbers for 2021 are preliminary, except for hotel data which is preliminary for November 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.