Summary
August 2014 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 260,779 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 231,861 in August 2013—a +12.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 84.8%, up 1.5 percentage points from 83.3% in 2013. Foreign card spending totaled 17.0 billion ISK (+19.7% YoY).
August 2014 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 1,409,680, up 12.8% on the same period of 2013. Within 2014, 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 31.4%.
Germany was the largest source market with 20.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 49.2%. Hotel occupancy of 84.8% 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 2014, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2014 | Nights 2013 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 53,955 | 47,561 | +13.4% | 20.7% |
| 2 | United States of America | 48,839 | 38,039 | +28.4% | 18.7% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 25,634 | 20,995 | +22.1% | 9.8% |
| 4 | France | 14,635 | 12,539 | +16.7% | 5.6% |
| 5 | Spain | 13,147 | 11,083 | +18.6% | 5.0% |
| 6 | Italy | 12,743 | 10,804 | +17.9% | 4.9% |
| 7 | Sweden | 10,503 | 10,827 | -3.0% | 4.0% |
| 8 | Norway | 10,154 | 13,516 | -24.9% | 3.9% |
| 9 | Denmark | 8,324 | 6,466 | +28.7% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 7,924 | 7,321 | +8.2% | 3.0% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2014:
| Region | Occupancy 2014 | Occupancy 2013 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 90.2% | 88.6% | +1.6 pp |
| Total | 84.8% | 83.3% | +1.5 pp |
| Reykjanes | 81.9% | 77.3% | +4.6 pp |
| North | 81.4% | 77.2% | +4.2 pp |
| East | 79.7% | 78.6% | +1.1 pp |
| South | 77.6% | 76.2% | +1.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 73.6% | 73.2% | +0.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2014 was 17,034.67 million ISK (17.03 billion ISK), compared to 14,235.12 million ISK in August 2013.
This represents a +19.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 26,870 overnight stays in hotels in August 2014, down 4.1% from 28,030 in 2013.
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