Data released this week by Hostelworld, a leading hostel accommodation platform shows enquiries for accommodation in Iceland increased by a massive 58 percent during the tournament compared to the same period last year.
Despite the Icelandic national team knocking out England in the tournament, UK residents were responsible for the second-most searches, just behind the USA.
While Iceland has seen the biggest increase in global customer enquiries, Portugal also recorded strong growth with nine percent and was third overall, coming in behind Slovakia, which reported a 15 percent increase.
Icelandic searches peaked on 3 July in the quarter-final against France when enquires more than doubled (increase of 116 percent), which was the biggest increase of any country in the tournament.
This was followed by Slovakia, with enquires rising by 44 percent on the 27 June following the team’s defeat to
Germany the night before, while enquires for victors Portugal increased by 24 percent the day after the final.
Otto Rosenberger, Chief Marking Officer at Hostelworld, said: “Global sporting events are not only great spectacles, but really shine a spotlight on countries that you may have never thought to visit before. This is especially true when we’ve been on a journey with a national team, like Iceland stunning the world by reaching the quarter-finals, or Portugal winning their first European Championship after losing their star player.”
He added that “whether it’s watching Icelandic geysers, sipping some of Portugal’s famous port or wandering around Slovakia’s historic castles, we know hostellers seek new experiences and people to share them with, so it makes complete sense that we’ve seen hostel enquires significantly increase in these amazing but lesser known countries”.