Summary
August 2016 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 411,836 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 323,272 in August 2015—a +27.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 90.5%, up 6.8 percentage points from 83.7% in 2015. Foreign card spending totaled 31.0 billion ISK (+39.9% YoY).
August 2016 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 2,303,402, up 31.0% on the same period of 2015. Within 2016, 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 67.6%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 25.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 54.2%. Hotel occupancy of 90.5% 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 2016, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2016 | Nights 2015 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 103,626 | 67,973 | +52.5% | 25.2% |
| 2 | Germany | 78,499 | 64,560 | +21.6% | 19.1% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 40,923 | 32,907 | +24.4% | 9.9% |
| 4 | France | 21,943 | 17,597 | +24.7% | 5.3% |
| 5 | China | 19,350 | 14,783 | +30.9% | 4.7% |
| 6 | Italy | 18,996 | 15,521 | +22.4% | 4.6% |
| 7 | Spain | 17,704 | 16,977 | +4.3% | 4.3% |
| 8 | Sweden | 13,358 | 11,704 | +14.1% | 3.2% |
| 9 | Canada | 12,145 | 7,750 | +56.7% | 2.9% |
| 10 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 11,443 | 9,905 | +15.5% | 2.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2016:
| Region | Occupancy 2016 | Occupancy 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 96.7% | 82.4% | +14.3 pp |
| Capital Region | 93.1% | 85.8% | +7.3 pp |
| Total | 90.5% | 83.7% | +6.8 pp |
| North | 89.1% | 75.7% | +13.4 pp |
| South | 87.2% | 84.3% | +2.9 pp |
| East | 84.3% | 84.8% | -0.5 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 81.9% | 75.7% | +6.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2016 was 30,990.88 million ISK (30.99 billion ISK), compared to 22,145.66 million ISK in August 2015.
This represents a +39.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 35,322 overnight stays in hotels in August 2016, up 25.3% from 28,196 in 2015.
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