The number of overnight stays in October decreased by 4.9% compared with the same month last year. There was a 3% increase in hotels, 8.2% decrease in guesthouses, 19.6% decrease in private accommodation through Airbnb etc. and 8.1% decrease in other types of accommodation.
Overnight stays in all accommodation in October 2019 were 758,400, compared with 797,600 in October last year. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 506,200, thereof 409,200 in hotels and 97,000 in guesthouses. Overnight stays in apartments, youth hostels, campsites etc. were 129,200, and overnight stays through websites such as Airbnb were approximately 123,000.
3% increase in overnight stays at hotels
Overnight stays in hotels in October 2019 were 409,200, which is a 3% increasefrom October last year. There was a 3% decrease in the North, West and Westfjords areas. Each of the Southwest and East areas saw an increase of 3,500 overnight stays (12% and 42%, respectively). Around 51% of overnight stays in hotels were in the Capital area, or 225.300, which is relatively unchanged from October last year.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| October | November-October | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | % | |
| Total | 398,313 | 409,215 | 3 | 4,469,026 | 4,416,749 | -1 |
| Capital region | 224,602 | 225,346 | 0 | 2,608,312 | 2,504,159 | -4 |
| Southwest | 29,167 | 32,668 | 12 | 310,903 | 314,636 | 1 |
| West and Westfjords | 23,819 | 23,185 | -3 | 242,378 | 241,799 | 0 |
| Northwest and Northe | 30,918 | 29,903 | -3 | 314,979 | 338,206 | 7 |
| East | 8,362 | 11,908 | 42 | 102,249 | 116,196 | 14 |
| South | 81,445 | 86,205 | 6 | 890,205 | 901,753 | 1 |
| Citizenship | ||||||
| Icelanders | 36,838 | 38,745 | 5 | 452,118 | 426,656 | -6 |
| Foreign visitors | 361,475 | 370,470 | 2 | 4,016,908 | 3,990,093 | -1 |
Over a twelve month period from November 2018 to October 2019, the total number of overnight stays in hotels was 4,417,000, which is a 1% decrease from the preceding 12 month period.
Nights spent by foreign tourists in hotels were 370,500, which accounted for 91% of the total number of overnight stays in October. USA residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (116,500), then residents of the UK (58,000) and China (31,900). Overnight stays of Icelanders in October were 38,700.
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 68.4% in October 2019, and decreased by 2.4 percentage points from October 2018. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 8.6%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms in October was highest in the Capital area (77.5%).
| Supply and occupancy rates of hotel bedrooms in October | ||||||
| Number of Hotel bedrooms in October | Room occupancy rate in October | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2018 | 2019 | pp | |
| Total | 10,176 | 11,048 | 8.6% | 70.8% | 68.4% | -2.4 |
| Capital region | 5,077 | 5,366 | 5.7% | 80.3% | 77.5% | -2.9 |
| Southwest | 627 | 839 | 33.8% | 83.0% | 67.0% | -16.0 |
| West and Westfjords | 791 | 897 | 13.4% | 53.0% | 46.9% | -6.2 |
| North | 1,123 | 1,216 | 8.3% | 52.4% | 51.3% | -1.1 |
| East | 349 | 441 | 26.4% | 42.4% | 48.4% | 6.0 |
| South | 2,209 | 2,289 | 3.6% | 65.6% | 68.9% | 3.3 |
Additionally, overnight stays in cars other than at campsites were 18,000 and the number of overnight stays with friends and relatives, through exchanges or in other places where no payment was made, were 23,000.
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.