Hotel development keeps pace with growing tourist numbers
Reykjavík is a popular destination, with 90% of foreign tourists who come to Iceland visiting the city. This naturally has a significant impact, and at the Economic and Urban Development informational meeting, which the mayor hosts annually about infrastructure and business development, officials discussed the challenges posed by tourism.
Where will all these guests stay?
Kamma Thordarson, project manager for economic and urban development at Reykjavík City, reviewed the status of hotel development in Reykjavík.
There are 55 hotels in Reykjavík with 5,500 hotel rooms, and in 2023 there were more than 2.7 million overnight stays in the area. "In Reykjavík, hotel room utilization is about 77% over the year, which is above average," Kamma says. She also points to the fact that hotel room development has kept pace with the increase in tourists in recent years despite the industry's unusually rapid growth.
Another positive trend is that seasonal fluctuation has been decreasing. "The goal is for rooms to be well utilized year-round," Kamma says.
From a slide presentation.
Development of new hotels along CityLine
Just over two million foreign tourists came to Iceland in 2023, and 90% of them visited Reykjavík. Forecasts from the Icelandic Tourist Board and Isavia expect the number to exceed three million by 2029. It is therefore crucial to plan for continued development.
The newest hotel spaces that have opened in the city center are Hotel Grandi, Reykjavík Edition, Hotel Alþingi and Hotel Reykjavík Saga. These newly opened hotels have a total of about 730 hotel rooms.
Hotels under construction or in development are more widely distributed, and the image shows this in relation to CityLine:
A total of 704 hotel rooms are already under construction, and 600 are on the drawing board.
"We encourage all investors we meet to locate their hotels along CityLine. Some projects are under construction and others are in the development stage. Most will be along CityLine, which aligns with our future vision," Kamma says.
Kamma's presentation slides include images of these projects and their current status.
Well-attended meeting about Economic and Urban Development
The mayor's informational meeting about Economic and Urban Development is annual and was well attended. This year featured concise presentations. Recording of the meeting and speaker presentations can be found on the meeting website: Economic and Urban Development – informational meeting about infrastructure development