Summary
January 2007 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 36,550 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 27,120 in January 2006—a +34.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 29.0%, up 2.5 percentage points from 26.5% in 2006. Foreign card spending totaled 1.2 billion ISK (+44.1% YoY).
January 2007 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through January, reached 36,550, up 34.8% on the same period of 2006. Within 2007, January ranked 11th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for January over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 53.2%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 24.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 44.4%. Hotel occupancy of 29.0% 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 January 2007, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2007 | Nights 2006 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 8,786 | 6,865 | +28.0% | 24.0% |
| 2 | Other European countries | 3,890 | 2,178 | +78.6% | 10.6% |
| 3 | Sweden | 3,548 | 1,457 | +143.5% | 9.7% |
| 4 | United States of America | 3,290 | 3,420 | -3.8% | 9.0% |
| 5 | Denmark | 3,160 | 2,175 | +45.3% | 8.6% |
| 6 | Germany | 2,604 | 2,400 | +8.5% | 7.1% |
| 7 | Norway | 2,494 | 2,116 | +17.9% | 6.8% |
| 8 | Japan | 1,203 | 1,393 | -13.6% | 3.3% |
| 9 | Canada | 1,097 | 167 | +556.9% | 3.0% |
| 10 | Other Asian countries | 1,025 | 286 | +258.4% | 2.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for January 2007:
| Region | Occupancy 2007 | Occupancy 2006 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 56.8% | 0.0% | +56.8 pp |
| East | 54.3% | 11.5% | +42.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 36.2% | 33.5% | +2.7 pp |
| Total | 29.0% | 26.5% | +2.5 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 18.0% | 34.7% | -16.7 pp |
| South | 9.3% | 8.9% | +0.4 pp |
| North | 8.5% | 10.4% | -1.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in January 2007 was 1,241.49 million ISK (1.24 billion ISK), compared to 861.3 million ISK in January 2006.
This represents a +44.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 14,426 overnight stays in hotels in January 2007, up 8.9% from 13,247 in 2006.
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