Summary
December 2008 was part of Iceland's shoulder season. Foreign guests recorded 45,377 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 34,638 in December 2007—a +31.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 26.7%, down 0.9 percentage points from 27.6% in 2007. Foreign card spending totaled 2.0 billion ISK (+70.9% YoY).
December 2008 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through December, reached 1,051,394, up 3.6% on the same period of 2007. Within 2008, 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 50.1%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 29.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 49.7%. Hotel occupancy of 26.7% 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 2008, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2008 | Nights 2007 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 13,555 | 11,279 | +20.2% | 29.9% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,221 | 4,529 | +15.3% | 11.5% |
| 3 | Germany | 3,786 | 2,200 | +72.1% | 8.3% |
| 4 | Norway | 3,237 | 1,692 | +91.3% | 7.1% |
| 5 | Sweden | 3,206 | 2,091 | +53.3% | 7.1% |
| 6 | Other European countries | 2,736 | 2,529 | +8.2% | 6.0% |
| 7 | Denmark | 2,474 | 1,740 | +42.2% | 5.5% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 2,083 | 1,195 | +74.3% | 4.6% |
| 9 | France | 2,030 | 1,687 | +20.3% | 4.5% |
| 10 | Japan | 1,689 | 1,975 | -14.5% | 3.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for December 2008:
| Region | Occupancy 2008 | Occupancy 2007 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 36.4% | 35.4% | +1.0 pp |
| Reykjanes | 36.4% | 38.3% | -1.9 pp |
| Total | 26.7% | 27.6% | -0.9 pp |
| East | 9.1% | 11.1% | -2.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 7.8% | 10.9% | -3.1 pp |
| North | 7.5% | 10.6% | -3.1 pp |
| South | 6.8% | 8.8% | -2.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in December 2008 was 2,022.65 million ISK (2.02 billion ISK), compared to 1,183.34 million ISK in December 2007.
This represents a +70.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 13,443 overnight stays in hotels in December 2008, down 29.2% from 18,981 in 2007.
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