Summary
August 2018 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 466,453 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 431,602 in August 2017—a +8.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 84.7%, down 2.0 percentage points from 86.7% in 2017. Foreign card spending totaled 33.6 billion ISK (+1.7% YoY).
August 2018 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through August, reached 2,715,825, up 2.8% on the same period of 2017. Within 2018, August ranked 1st of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for August over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 40.6%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 35.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 53.1%. Hotel occupancy of 84.7% 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 2018, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2018 | Nights 2017 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 166,266 | 131,008 | +26.9% | 35.6% |
| 2 | Germany | 48,322 | 58,824 | -17.9% | 10.4% |
| 3 | China | 32,886 | 24,395 | +34.8% | 7.1% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 30,234 | 39,316 | -23.1% | 6.5% |
| 5 | France | 22,197 | 19,889 | +11.6% | 4.8% |
| 6 | Italy | 21,326 | 21,240 | +0.4% | 4.6% |
| 7 | Spain | 21,290 | 21,013 | +1.3% | 4.6% |
| 8 | Canada | 13,007 | 11,774 | +10.5% | 2.8% |
| 9 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 10,289 | 9,864 | +4.3% | 2.2% |
| 10 | Sweden | 9,570 | 10,049 | -4.8% | 2.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for August 2018:
| Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 93.5% | 78.3% | +15.2 pp |
| Capital Region | 86.3% | 89.4% | -3.1 pp |
| South | 86.0% | 88.1% | -2.1 pp |
| Total | 84.7% | 86.7% | -2.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 80.3% | 76.5% | +3.8 pp |
| North | 78.1% | 83.2% | -5.1 pp |
| East | 73.4% | 86.0% | -12.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in August 2018 was 33,635.79 million ISK (33.64 billion ISK), compared to 33,066.13 million ISK in August 2017.
This represents a +1.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 38,002 overnight stays in hotels in August 2018, up 16.9% from 32,507 in 2017.
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