Summary
December 2009 was part of Iceland's shoulder season. Foreign guests recorded 41,930 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 45,377 in December 2008—a -7.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 25.6%, down 1.1 percentage points from 26.7% in 2008. Foreign card spending totaled 2.2 billion ISK (+8.5% YoY).
December 2009 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through December, reached 1,073,837, up 2.1% on the same period of 2008. Within 2009, 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 22.8%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 37.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 54.7%. Hotel occupancy of 25.6% 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 2009, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2009 | Nights 2008 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 15,662 | 13,555 | +15.5% | 37.4% |
| 2 | United States of America | 4,410 | 5,221 | -15.5% | 10.5% |
| 3 | Germany | 2,853 | 3,786 | -24.6% | 6.8% |
| 4 | Sweden | 2,655 | 3,206 | -17.2% | 6.3% |
| 5 | France | 2,229 | 2,030 | +9.8% | 5.3% |
| 6 | Norway | 2,179 | 3,237 | -32.7% | 5.2% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 2,090 | 2,083 | +0.3% | 5.0% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 1,860 | 2,736 | -32.0% | 4.4% |
| 9 | Denmark | 1,697 | 2,474 | -31.4% | 4.0% |
| 10 | Japan | 1,513 | 1,689 | -10.4% | 3.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for December 2009:
| Region | Occupancy 2009 | Occupancy 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 33.4% | 36.4% | -3.0 pp |
| Capital Region | 33.0% | 36.4% | -3.4 pp |
| Total | 25.6% | 26.7% | -1.1 pp |
| South | 12.2% | 6.8% | +5.4 pp |
| North | 8.7% | 7.5% | +1.2 pp |
| East | 6.4% | 9.1% | -2.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 5.7% | 7.8% | -2.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in December 2009 was 2,193.73 million ISK (2.19 billion ISK), compared to 2,022.65 million ISK in December 2008.
This represents a +8.5% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 13,970 overnight stays in hotels in December 2009, up 3.9% from 13,443 in 2008.
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