Summary
January 2008 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 39,942 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 36,550 in January 2007—a +9.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 30.5%, up 1.5 percentage points from 29.0% in 2007. Foreign card spending totaled 1.3 billion ISK (+2.3% YoY).
January 2008 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through January, reached 39,942, up 9.3% on the same period of 2007. Within 2008, January ranked 12th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for January over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 49.8%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 23.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 42.4%. Hotel occupancy of 30.5% 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 2008, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2008 | Nights 2007 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 9,264 | 8,786 | +5.4% | 23.2% |
| 2 | Other European countries | 4,169 | 3,890 | +7.2% | 10.4% |
| 3 | United States of America | 3,501 | 3,290 | +6.4% | 8.8% |
| 4 | Sweden | 3,474 | 3,548 | -2.1% | 8.7% |
| 5 | Norway | 3,088 | 2,494 | +23.8% | 7.7% |
| 6 | Germany | 3,046 | 2,604 | +17.0% | 7.6% |
| 7 | Denmark | 3,015 | 3,160 | -4.6% | 7.5% |
| 8 | France | 2,789 | 991 | +181.4% | 7.0% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1,409 | 908 | +55.2% | 3.5% |
| 10 | Japan | 1,283 | 1,203 | +6.7% | 3.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for January 2008:
| Region | Occupancy 2008 | Occupancy 2007 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 38.9% | 36.2% | +2.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 33.0% | 56.8% | -23.8 pp |
| Total | 30.5% | 29.0% | +1.5 pp |
| East | 22.2% | 54.3% | -32.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 15.9% | 18.0% | -2.1 pp |
| North | 12.1% | 8.5% | +3.6 pp |
| South | 9.3% | 9.3% | +0.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in January 2008 was 1,270.11 million ISK (1.27 billion ISK), compared to 1,241.49 million ISK in January 2007.
This represents a +2.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 18,499 overnight stays in hotels in January 2008, up 28.2% from 14,426 in 2007.
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