Summary
August 2012 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 221,070 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 191,799 in August 2011—a +15.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 85.7%, up 5.0 percentage points from 80.7% in 2011. Foreign card spending totaled 12.4 billion ISK (+13.4% YoY).
August 2012 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 1,087,702, up 20.4% on the same period of 2011. Within 2012, 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 28.3%.
Germany was the largest source market with 20.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 45.1%. Hotel occupancy of 85.7% 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 2012, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2012 | Nights 2011 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 45,543 | 36,283 | +25.5% | 20.6% |
| 2 | United States of America | 34,969 | 27,627 | +26.6% | 15.8% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 19,177 | 18,649 | +2.8% | 8.7% |
| 4 | France | 13,929 | 10,529 | +32.3% | 6.3% |
| 5 | Other European countries | 12,116 | 9,559 | +26.7% | 5.5% |
| 6 | Norway | 11,412 | 10,651 | +7.1% | 5.2% |
| 7 | Spain | 10,956 | 10,929 | +0.2% | 5.0% |
| 8 | Denmark | 10,920 | 9,541 | +14.5% | 4.9% |
| 9 | Italy | 10,686 | 11,523 | -7.3% | 4.8% |
| 10 | Sweden | 10,612 | 10,643 | -0.3% | 4.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2012:
| Region | Occupancy 2012 | Occupancy 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 91.6% | 85.0% | +6.6 pp |
| Total | 85.7% | 80.7% | +5.0 pp |
| Reykjanes | 83.3% | 86.4% | -3.1 pp |
| South | 82.2% | 73.8% | +8.4 pp |
| East | 76.5% | 67.9% | +8.6 pp |
| North | 74.4% | 75.6% | -1.2 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 68.0% | 68.2% | -0.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2012 was 12,375.22 million ISK (12.38 billion ISK), compared to 10,910.17 million ISK in August 2011.
This represents a +13.4% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 27,186 overnight stays in hotels in August 2012, up 1.8% from 26,693 in 2011.
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