Summary
December 2010 was part of Iceland's shoulder season. Foreign guests recorded 38,556 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 41,930 in December 2009—a -8.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 24.2%, down 1.4 percentage points from 25.6% in 2009. Foreign card spending totaled 2.3 billion ISK (+2.7% YoY).
December 2010 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through December, reached 1,053,619, down 1.9% on the same period of 2009. Within 2010, 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 2.7%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 32.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 54.9%. Hotel occupancy of 24.2% 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 2010, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2010 | Nights 2009 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 12,583 | 15,662 | -19.7% | 32.6% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,623 | 4,410 | +27.5% | 14.6% |
| 3 | Germany | 2,949 | 2,853 | +3.4% | 7.6% |
| 4 | Sweden | 2,365 | 2,655 | -10.9% | 6.1% |
| 5 | Japan | 2,215 | 1,513 | +46.4% | 5.7% |
| 6 | Denmark | 1,899 | 1,697 | +11.9% | 4.9% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 1,896 | 2,090 | -9.3% | 4.9% |
| 8 | Norway | 1,746 | 2,179 | -19.9% | 4.5% |
| 9 | France | 1,600 | 2,229 | -28.2% | 4.1% |
| 10 | Other European countries | 1,442 | 1,860 | -22.5% | 3.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for December 2010:
| Region | Occupancy 2010 | Occupancy 2009 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 32.6% | 33.0% | -0.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 31.3% | 33.4% | -2.1 pp |
| Total | 24.2% | 25.6% | -1.4 pp |
| South | 11.0% | 12.2% | -1.2 pp |
| North | 8.4% | 8.7% | -0.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 6.3% | 5.7% | +0.6 pp |
| East | 6.1% | 6.4% | -0.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in December 2010 was 2,253.9 million ISK (2.25 billion ISK), compared to 2,193.73 million ISK in December 2009.
This represents a +2.7% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 15,728 overnight stays in hotels in December 2010, up 12.6% from 13,970 in 2009.
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