Summary
January 2009 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 42,396 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 39,942 in January 2008—a +6.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 26.8%, down 3.7 percentage points from 30.5% in 2008. Foreign card spending totaled 1.9 billion ISK (+53.3% YoY).
January 2009 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through January, reached 42,396, up 6.1% on the same period of 2008. Within 2009, 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 40.5%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 29.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 50.2%. Hotel occupancy of 26.8% 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 2009, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2009 | Nights 2008 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 12,567 | 9,264 | +35.7% | 29.6% |
| 2 | United States of America | 4,936 | 3,501 | +41.0% | 11.6% |
| 3 | Germany | 3,795 | 3,046 | +24.6% | 9.0% |
| 4 | Other European countries | 3,201 | 4,169 | -23.2% | 7.6% |
| 5 | Denmark | 3,167 | 3,015 | +5.0% | 7.5% |
| 6 | Norway | 2,678 | 3,088 | -13.3% | 6.3% |
| 7 | Sweden | 2,535 | 3,474 | -27.0% | 6.0% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 1,697 | 1,409 | +20.4% | 4.0% |
| 9 | France | 1,694 | 2,789 | -39.3% | 4.0% |
| 10 | Japan | 1,563 | 1,283 | +21.8% | 3.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for January 2009:
| Region | Occupancy 2009 | Occupancy 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 36.0% | 33.0% | +3.0 pp |
| Capital Region | 34.6% | 38.9% | -4.3 pp |
| Total | 26.8% | 30.5% | -3.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 12.3% | 15.9% | -3.6 pp |
| East | 10.2% | 22.2% | -12.0 pp |
| North | 9.7% | 12.1% | -2.4 pp |
| South | 8.4% | 9.3% | -0.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in January 2009 was 1,947.19 million ISK (1.95 billion ISK), compared to 1,270.11 million ISK in January 2008.
This represents a +53.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 12,317 overnight stays in hotels in January 2009, down 33.4% from 18,499 in 2008.
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