Summary
August 2015 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 323,272 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 260,779 in August 2014—a +24.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 83.7%, down 1.1 percentage points from 84.8% in 2014. Foreign card spending totaled 22.1 billion ISK (+30.0% YoY).
August 2015 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 1,758,318, up 24.7% on the same period of 2014. Within 2015, 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 50.8%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 21.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 51.2%. Hotel occupancy of 83.7% 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 2015, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2015 | Nights 2014 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 67,973 | 48,839 | +39.2% | 21.0% |
| 2 | Germany | 64,560 | 53,955 | +19.7% | 20.0% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 32,907 | 25,634 | +28.4% | 10.2% |
| 4 | France | 17,597 | 14,635 | +20.2% | 5.4% |
| 5 | Spain | 16,977 | 13,147 | +29.1% | 5.3% |
| 6 | Italy | 15,521 | 12,743 | +21.8% | 4.8% |
| 7 | China | 14,783 | 7,202 | +105.3% | 4.6% |
| 8 | Sweden | 11,704 | 10,503 | +11.4% | 3.6% |
| 9 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 9,905 | 7,924 | +25.0% | 3.1% |
| 10 | Norway | 8,601 | 10,154 | -15.3% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2015:
| Region | Occupancy 2015 | Occupancy 2014 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 85.8% | 90.2% | -4.4 pp |
| East | 84.8% | 79.7% | +5.1 pp |
| South | 84.3% | 77.6% | +6.7 pp |
| Total | 83.7% | 84.8% | -1.1 pp |
| Reykjanes | 82.4% | 81.9% | +0.5 pp |
| North | 75.7% | 81.4% | -5.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 75.7% | 73.6% | +2.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2015 was 22,145.66 million ISK (22.15 billion ISK), compared to 17,034.67 million ISK in August 2014.
This represents a +30.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 28,196 overnight stays in hotels in August 2015, up 4.9% from 26,870 in 2014.
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