Summary
December 2007 was part of Iceland's shoulder season. Foreign guests recorded 34,638 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 37,188 in December 2006—a -6.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 27.6%, down 3.3 percentage points from 30.9% in 2006. Foreign card spending totaled 1.2 billion ISK (+10.2% YoY).
December 2007 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through December, reached 1,014,986, up 10.6% on the same period of 2006. Within 2007, December ranked 12th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for December over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 25.8%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 32.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 52.9%. Hotel occupancy of 27.6% 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 2007, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2007 | Nights 2006 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 11,279 | 13,372 | -15.7% | 32.6% |
| 2 | United States of America | 4,529 | 4,130 | +9.7% | 13.1% |
| 3 | Other European countries | 2,529 | 2,058 | +22.9% | 7.3% |
| 4 | Germany | 2,200 | 2,093 | +5.1% | 6.4% |
| 5 | Sweden | 2,091 | 2,120 | -1.4% | 6.0% |
| 6 | Japan | 1,975 | 1,469 | +34.4% | 5.7% |
| 7 | Denmark | 1,740 | 2,629 | -33.8% | 5.0% |
| 8 | Norway | 1,692 | 2,125 | -20.4% | 4.9% |
| 9 | France | 1,687 | 1,640 | +2.9% | 4.9% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 1,195 | 1,195 | 0.0% | 3.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for December 2007:
| Region | Occupancy 2007 | Occupancy 2006 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 38.3% | 0.0% | +38.3 pp |
| Capital Region | 35.4% | 42.1% | -6.7 pp |
| Total | 27.6% | 30.9% | -3.3 pp |
| East | 11.1% | 32.5% | -21.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 10.9% | 29.5% | -18.6 pp |
| North | 10.6% | 8.3% | +2.3 pp |
| South | 8.8% | 8.2% | +0.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in December 2007 was 1,183.34 million ISK (1.18 billion ISK), compared to 1,073.47 million ISK in December 2006.
This represents a +10.2% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 18,981 overnight stays in hotels in December 2007, up 15.6% from 16,417 in 2006.
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