Experimental statistics indicate that overnight stays in hotels decreased by 86% in May, from 315 thousand to 44 thousand, compared to May 2019.
Overnight stays in listed accommodation decreased by 95% in April, from 438 thousand to 21 thousand, compared to the same month last year. During the same period overnight stays in hotels decreased by 97%, from 272 thousand to 9 thousand, while hotel room usage rate dropped by 46 points, from 49% to 4%, and hotel room supply decreased by 45%, going from approximately 10 thousand to 5 thousand.
The number of passengers departing from Keflavik Airport in May decreased by 99%, from 183 thousand to a little less than 2 thousand, compared to the same month last year. In the last 12-month period, the number of passengers has decreased by 28%, from 2.9 million to 2.1 million, compared to the same period the year before.
Revenue from foreign tourists in the first quarter of 2020 was 67 billion ISK and decreased by 28% compared to the same period last year when it was 93 billion ISK. Revenue from flights decreased by 7 billion ISK, or 25%, during the same period while revenue from tourist consumption decreased by 20 billion ISK, or 29%. The effects of Covid-19 became more apparent during the latter part of the first quarter. Revenue from foreign tourists was 444 billion ISK during the last 12 months, dropping by 14% compared to the same period the year before when it was 518 billion ISK.
This release includes updated statistics on overnight stays and revenue from foreign tourists. Also updated are statistics on rental cars from the Icelandic Transport Authority, traffic statistics from the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration, passenger count from Icelandic Tourist Board and ISAVIA through Keflavik Airport along with traffic statistics for Keflavik Airport.
| Tourism short-term indicators | April | May - April | ||||
| Overnight stays1 | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total overnight stays (listed) | 438677 | 20838 | -95% | 8501291 | 7700772 | -9% |
| Hotels and guesthouses | 335677 | 13502 | -96% | 5793434 | 5238071 | -10% |
| Airbnb and similar sites | .. | .. | .. | .. | ||
| Other types of unpaid accommodation1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | ||
| Other types of listed accommodation | 103000 | 7336 | -93% | 2707857 | 2462701 | -9% |
| April | May - April | |||||
| Occupancy rate of hotel rooms | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total overnight stays in hotels | 272590 | 9198 | -97% | 4444386 | 4064970 | -9% |
| Available hotel rooms | 10432 | 5778 | -45% | 122601 | 126207 | 3% |
| Occupancy rate | 49% | 4% | -46 | 66% | 60% | -6 |
| May | ||||||
| Accommodation experimental statistics | 2019 (actual) | 2020 (estimated) | % | |||
| Overnight stays in hotels | 315000 | 44000 | -86% | |||
| Q4 | Q1-Q4 | |||||
| Balance of trade in services (million ISK) | 2018 | 2019 | % | 2018 | 2019 | % |
| Revenue from non-Icelandic tourists | 92880 | 66692 | -28% | 518128 | 443678 | -14% |
| - Passenger flights | 26772 | 19951 | -25% | 176325 | 132368 | -25% |
| - Consumption | 66108 | 46741 | -29% | 341803 | 311311 | -9% |
| January - February | March - February | |||||
| VAT turnover (million ISK)2 | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total turnover | 79905 | 71994 | -10% | 676031 | 608010 | -10% |
| - Passenger flights | 30581 | 26589 | -13% | 279947 | 224227 | -20% |
| - Accommodation | 11034 | 10848 | -2% | 101802 | 98590 | -3% |
| - Catering and services | 13755 | 13587 | -1% | 100292 | 99856 | 0% |
| - Travel agents and planners (abroad) | 5803 | 4822 | -17% | 51091 | 47097 | -8% |
| - Travel agents and planners (in Iceland) | 1932 | 2179 | 13% | 16829 | 16780 | 0% |
| - Car rentals | 12987 | 10810 | -17% | 97276 | 95095 | -2% |
| - Passenger transport on land | 3489 | 2925 | -16% | 23362 | 21213 | -9% |
| - Passenger water transport | 323 | 233 | -28% | 5430 | 5152 | -5% |
| February | Average employees March - February | |||||
| Employees3 | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total employees in key tourism sectors | 25900 | 23500 | -9% | 29000 | 26800 | -8% |
| - Passenger flights | 4800 | 3600 | -25% | 5400 | 4200 | -21% |
| - Accommodation | 5900 | 5800 | -3% | 7000 | 6900 | -2% |
| - Catering and services | 9800 | 9200 | -7% | 10700 | 10000 | -6% |
| - Travel agents and planners | 3600 | 3200 | -9% | 3900 | 3800 | -3% |
| - Other tourism sectors | 2500 | 2400 | -6% | 2800 | 2600 | -7% |
| June | Average July - June | |||||
| Rental cars4 | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total rental cars | 25437 | 20776 | -18% | 25418 | 23631 | -7% |
| Rental cars (active) | 24374 | 13143 | -46% | 23585 | 20729 | -12% |
| Rental cars (inactive) | 1063 | 7633 | 618% | 1833 | 2902 | 58% |
| May | June - May | |||||
| Traffic on ring road5 | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| South Iceland | 15486 | 12661 | -18% | 180409 | 163400 | -9% |
| West Iceland | 15112 | 13255 | -12% | 169309 | 159360 | -6% |
| North Iceland | 8573 | 6364 | -26% | 104268 | 93064 | -11% |
| East Iceland | 2263 | 1362 | -40% | 27643 | 24601 | -11% |
| May | June - May | |||||
| Passenger count to and from Iceland | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total Passengers6 | 183278 | 1864 | -99.0% | 2886028 | 2075543 | -28.1% |
| - Foreign nationality | 126309 | 1035 | -99.2% | 2227277 | 1617053 | -27.4% |
| - Icelandic nationality | 56969 | 829 | -98.5% | 658751 | 514629 | -21.9% |
| May | June - May | |||||
| Traffic statistics - Keflavik Airport | 2019 | 2020 | % | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | % |
| Total movements (departures/landings) | 7644 | 5510 | -27.9% | 92421 | 73179 | -20.8% |
| Total passenger movements7 | 580701 | 4064 | -99.3% | 9218501 | 5557701 | -39.7% |
| - Departures | 182351 | 1795 | -99.0% | 2878391 | 2086221 | -27.5% |
| - Arrivals | 195666 | 1954 | -99.0% | 2862196 | 2069107 | -27.7% |
| - Exchange passengers (counted twice) | 202684 | 313 | -99.8% | 3474381 | 1396030 | -59.8% |
1 Other accommodations are camping sites, youth hostels, holiday centres, lodges in wilderness, apartments, sleeping-bag facilities and private-home accommodation. Other unpaid accommodation includes overnight stays in cars, tents or caravans outside campsites and indoor accommodation where no payment was made.
2 Travel agencies (abroad): Services in connection with trips abroad, i.e. with zero VAT-rate according to paragraph 12 of the VAT-law (Act 50/1988). Travel agencies (in Iceland): Services in connection with trips in Iceland, i.e. not with zero VAT-rate according to paragraph 12 of the VAT-law (Act 50/1988).
3 Numbers rounded to the nearest hundred.
4 According to data from Icelandic transport authority.
5 According to numbers from 14 counters on the ring road from Icelandic Road Administration. Monthly numbers show the average count each month. 12 month rolling period specifies the total count during the period. Data is used from 14 counters located on the ring road.
6 According to numbers from Icelandic Tourist Board.
7 Total passenger movements count departures, arrivals and connecting passengers which are counted twice.
8 Numbers not published due to insufficient data.
Statistics
Tourism indicators
Balance of trade and services
Revenue from foreign travelers