Summary
December 2003 was part of Iceland's shoulder season. Foreign guests recorded 25,832 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 21,128 in December 2002—a +22.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 22.1%, down 1.1 percentage points from 23.2% in 2002. Foreign card spending totaled 0.7 billion ISK (-2.8% YoY).
December 2003 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through December, reached 716,192, up 11.4% on the same period of 2002. Within 2003, December ranked 11th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for December over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 22.9%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 29.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 54.3%. Hotel occupancy of 22.1% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is typical of Iceland's low season, when many rural hotels close and demand concentrates in Reykjavík. 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 December 2003, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2003 | Nights 2002 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 7,686 | 6,432 | +19.5% | 29.8% |
| 2 | United States of America | 3,723 | 2,799 | +33.0% | 14.4% |
| 3 | Sweden | 2,628 | 1,581 | +66.2% | 10.2% |
| 4 | Norway | 2,065 | 2,362 | -12.6% | 8.0% |
| 5 | Germany | 1,888 | 1,713 | +10.2% | 7.3% |
| 6 | Denmark | 1,882 | 1,539 | +22.3% | 7.3% |
| 7 | France | 1,353 | 854 | +58.4% | 5.2% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 905 | 740 | +22.3% | 3.5% |
| 9 | Japan | 900 | 649 | +38.7% | 3.5% |
| 10 | Other European countries | 802 | 568 | +41.2% | 3.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for December 2003:
| Region | Occupancy 2003 | Occupancy 2002 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 31.2% | 36.9% | -5.7 pp |
| East | 28.3% | 7.8% | +20.5 pp |
| Total | 22.1% | 23.2% | -1.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 14.5% | 13.0% | +1.5 pp |
| North | 6.8% | 4.4% | +2.4 pp |
| South | 5.6% | 6.2% | -0.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in December 2003 was 656.68 million ISK (0.66 billion ISK), compared to 675.85 million ISK in December 2002.
This represents a -2.8% year-over-year change. Despite growth in overnight stays in hotels, spending declined—possibly reflecting lower per-visitor expenditure or shifts in spending patterns.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 8,872 overnight stays in hotels in December 2003, up 23.7% from 7,175 in 2002.
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