Iceland tourism: Chinese arrivals surge 31% as spending hits ISK 211bn

Iceland’s tourism sector recorded modest growth in 2026, with foreign hotel overnight stays rising 0.9% year on year to 2.75 million, according to figures from Statistics Iceland.

Tourist card spending increased slightly faster, climbing 1.4% to ISK 211 billion. Average spending per foreign overnight stay reached ISK 77,000, up 0.5%, indicating continued growth in visitor expenditure despite relatively flat volumes.

Hotel occupancy averaged 64.3% for the year, down 1.4 percentage points from 2025. July was the busiest month, generating 593,254 foreign overnight stays, while January recorded the lowest total at 248,842.

The US remained Iceland’s largest source market, accounting for 28.7% of foreign hotel nights, although stays from US visitors fell 8.3% year on year to around 790,000. The UK and Germany followed, with 345,000 and 234,000 nights respectively.

China was the standout growth market among the leading sources, with overnight stays increasing 31.2% to approximately 224,000. Italy also recorded strong growth, up 11.1%.

Domestic hotel nights declined 6.7% to 318,000.

For travel insurers and intermediaries, the figures point to a broadly stable inbound market alongside changing source-market dynamics and spending patterns. The increase in visitor expenditure, coupled with shifts in the mix of international travellers, highlights the importance of monitoring both trip volumes and traveller profiles when assessing Iceland-related travel demand.