Summary
February 2018 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 321,347 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 298,823 in February 2017—a +7.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 73.1%, down 4.7 percentage points from 77.8% in 2017. Foreign card spending totaled 16.3 billion ISK (-6.4% YoY).
February 2018 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through February, reached 584,640, up 4.0% on the same period of 2017. Within 2018, February ranked 7th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for February over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 66.0%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 33.3% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 66.2%. Hotel occupancy of 73.1% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 2018, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2018 | Nights 2017 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 107,078 | 109,206 | -1.9% | 33.3% |
| 2 | United States of America | 78,460 | 70,545 | +11.2% | 24.4% |
| 3 | China | 27,141 | 16,894 | +60.7% | 8.4% |
| 4 | Germany | 17,751 | 20,588 | -13.8% | 5.5% |
| 5 | France | 13,051 | 11,836 | +10.3% | 4.1% |
| 6 | Other Asian countries | 11,681 | 11,377 | +2.7% | 3.6% |
| 7 | Japan | 8,181 | 9,849 | -16.9% | 2.5% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 6,748 | 7,900 | -14.6% | 2.1% |
| 9 | Spain | 5,378 | 5,860 | -8.2% | 1.7% |
| 10 | Denmark | 4,976 | 3,451 | +44.2% | 1.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for February 2018:
| Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 90.3% | 96.0% | -5.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 79.9% | 90.1% | -10.2 pp |
| Total | 73.1% | 77.8% | -4.7 pp |
| South | 65.9% | 67.9% | -2.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 39.8% | 43.1% | -3.3 pp |
| North | 34.4% | 29.7% | +4.7 pp |
| East | 16.1% | 16.8% | -0.7 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in February 2018 was 16,263.19 million ISK (16.26 billion ISK), compared to 17,374.54 million ISK in February 2017.
This represents a -6.4% year-over-year change. Despite growth in overnight stays in hotels, spending declined—possibly reflecting lower per-visitor expenditure or shifts in spending patterns.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 31,793 overnight stays in hotels in February 2018, down 10.7% from 35,618 in 2017.
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