Summary
February 2005 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 37,098 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 38,806 in February 2004—a -4.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 38.1%, up 2.7 percentage points from 35.4% in 2004. Foreign card spending totaled 0.6 billion ISK (-6.5% YoY).
February 2005 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through February, reached 62,031, up 1.4% on the same period of 2004. Within 2005, February ranked 10th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for February over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 13.9%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 30.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 56.2%. Hotel occupancy of 38.1% 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 February 2005, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2005 | Nights 2004 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 11,163 | 11,469 | -2.7% | 30.1% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,560 | 4,304 | +29.2% | 15.0% |
| 3 | Norway | 4,113 | 5,562 | -26.1% | 11.1% |
| 4 | Denmark | 3,142 | 3,472 | -9.5% | 8.5% |
| 5 | Sweden | 2,751 | 4,138 | -33.5% | 7.4% |
| 6 | Germany | 2,344 | 2,469 | -5.1% | 6.3% |
| 7 | France | 1,741 | 1,816 | -4.1% | 4.7% |
| 8 | Japan | 1,564 | 1,298 | +20.5% | 4.2% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1,290 | 1,024 | +26.0% | 3.5% |
| 10 | Other European countries | 1,081 | 854 | +26.6% | 2.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for February 2005:
| Region | Occupancy 2005 | Occupancy 2004 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 51.8% | 43.4% | +8.4 pp |
| Total | 38.1% | 35.4% | +2.7 pp |
| East | 25.5% | 45.5% | -20.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 24.3% | 26.3% | -2.0 pp |
| North | 18.1% | 13.5% | +4.6 pp |
| South | 15.7% | 26.0% | -10.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in February 2005 was 593 million ISK (0.59 billion ISK), compared to 634 million ISK in February 2004.
This represents a -6.5% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 15,907 overnight stays in hotels in February 2005, up 7.2% from 14,832 in 2004.
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