The tourism boom which began in 2011, after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption put Iceland on the map, has peaked. The latest figures on overnight stays in hotels from Statistics Iceland shows that this number now drops for the first time in years. The year over year increase in recent years has been in the double digits, but January 2018 shows a decrease of 1%.
The figures do not include stays at Airbnbs, and therefore do not offer a complete picture of the development of the tourism industry. They do, however, provide a very clear sign that the period of explosive growth, which has characterized the tourism industry in Iceland in recent years, is now over.
Iceland has reached Peak Puffin.
Read more: Have we reached Peak Puffin? Tourism in Iceland grew slower during Q4 than projected
Read more: Peak puffin? Tourist numbers continue to grow, but at a slower pace: 8.5% increase in January
60% increase in North Iceland
The second most important change which emerges from the figures is a 60% increase in hotel stays in North Iceland. Most other parts of Iceland register decreases. West Iceland and the Westfjords also register an increase. The vast majority of the 285,200 nights spent at hotels in Iceland was in Reykjavík and the Metropolitan region, or 72% of the total.
Nights spent by foreign tourists accounted for 91% of the total number of overnight stays in January. Overnight stays of foreign tourists decreased by 1% from January 2017, while overnight stays of Icelanders decreased by 8%. UK residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (88,400), followed by the USA (66,800) and China (18.700).
57% occupancy rate for bedrooms in January
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 57.0% in January 2018, which is a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from January 2017, when it was 62.2%. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 8.3%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms in January was highest in the Capital area, or 74.8%.
Read more: From the editor: Is there an angry backlash against tourism in Iceland?
The tourism boom which began in 2011, after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption put Iceland on the map, has peaked. The latest figures on overnight stays in hotels from Statistics Iceland shows that this number now drops for the first time in years. The year over year increase in recent years has been in the double digits, but January 2018 shows a decrease of 1%.
The figures do not include stays at Airbnbs, and therefore do not offer a complete picture of the development of the tourism industry. They do, however, provide a very clear sign that the period of explosive growth, which has characterized the tourism industry in Iceland in recent years, is now over.
Iceland has reached Peak Puffin.
Read more: Have we reached Peak Puffin? Tourism in Iceland grew slower during Q4 than projected
Read more: Peak puffin? Tourist numbers continue to grow, but at a slower pace: 8.5% increase in January
60% increase in North Iceland
The second most important change which emerges from the figures is a 60% increase in hotel stays in North Iceland. Most other parts of Iceland register decreases. West Iceland and the Westfjords also register an increase. The vast majority of the 285,200 nights spent at hotels in Iceland was in Reykjavík and the Metropolitan region, or 72% of the total.
Nights spent by foreign tourists accounted for 91% of the total number of overnight stays in January. Overnight stays of foreign tourists decreased by 1% from January 2017, while overnight stays of Icelanders decreased by 8%. UK residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (88,400), followed by the USA (66,800) and China (18.700).
57% occupancy rate for bedrooms in January
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 57.0% in January 2018, which is a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from January 2017, when it was 62.2%. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 8.3%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms in January was highest in the Capital area, or 74.8%.
Read more: From the editor: Is there an angry backlash against tourism in Iceland?
