Summary
August 2009 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 180,983 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 164,575 in August 2008—a +10.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 80.2%, up 1.8 percentage points from 78.4% in 2008. Foreign card spending totaled 9.1 billion ISK (+69.0% YoY).
August 2009 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 801,188, up 3.6% on the same period of 2008. Within 2009, August ranked 2nd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for August over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 24.4%.
Germany was the largest source market with 20.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 43.8%. Hotel occupancy of 80.2% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; at this level most hotels in the capital are effectively full on peak nights. Spending figures are foreign card turnover reported by the Central Bank and exclude cash and purchases made before arrival.
Foreign Overnight Stays by Source Market
The top source markets for August 2009, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2009 | Nights 2008 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 36,874 | 29,458 | +25.2% | 20.4% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 25,485 | 24,761 | +2.9% | 14.1% |
| 3 | United States of America | 16,902 | 17,567 | -3.8% | 9.3% |
| 4 | Italy | 15,205 | 11,389 | +33.5% | 8.4% |
| 5 | Spain | 11,931 | 10,475 | +13.9% | 6.6% |
| 6 | France | 9,627 | 8,161 | +18.0% | 5.3% |
| 7 | Denmark | 9,399 | 8,098 | +16.1% | 5.2% |
| 8 | Sweden | 9,020 | 8,771 | +2.8% | 5.0% |
| 9 | Other European countries | 8,317 | 8,571 | -3.0% | 4.6% |
| 10 | Norway | 8,292 | 8,323 | -0.4% | 4.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2009:
| Region | Occupancy 2009 | Occupancy 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 85.6% | 72.6% | +13.0 pp |
| South | 80.5% | 75.7% | +4.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 80.4% | 81.1% | -0.7 pp |
| Total | 80.2% | 78.4% | +1.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 77.5% | 82.3% | -4.8 pp |
| East | 72.4% | 83.3% | -10.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 71.5% | 64.8% | +6.7 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2009 was 9,070.47 million ISK (9.07 billion ISK), compared to 5,367.78 million ISK in August 2008.
This represents a +69.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 24,195 overnight stays in hotels in August 2009, down 6.5% from 25,885 in 2008.
Data Sources
- Overnight Stays: Statistics Iceland (Hagstofa Íslands) — foreign and domestic guest nights in registered hotels
- Occupancy Rates: Statistics Iceland — room occupancy as % of available hotel capacity
- Card Spending: Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki Íslands) — foreign debit/credit card turnover