Summary
July 2005 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 139,869 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 138,974 in July 2004—a +0.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 75.8%, down 2.4 percentage points from 78.2% in 2004. Foreign card spending totaled 2.6 billion ISK (+7.8% YoY).
July 2005 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 471,585, up 1.7% on the same period of 2004. Within 2005, July ranked 1st of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for July over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 24.1%.
Germany was the largest source market with 23.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 47.9%. Hotel occupancy of 75.8% 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 July 2005, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2005 | Nights 2004 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 32,263 | 34,571 | -6.7% | 23.1% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 17,743 | 20,591 | -13.8% | 12.7% |
| 3 | United States of America | 16,999 | 17,414 | -2.4% | 12.2% |
| 4 | Sweden | 9,353 | 5,386 | +73.7% | 6.7% |
| 5 | Denmark | 9,063 | 6,791 | +33.5% | 6.5% |
| 6 | France | 7,785 | 7,591 | +2.6% | 5.6% |
| 7 | Italy | 6,457 | 7,682 | -15.9% | 4.6% |
| 8 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 6,087 | 7,898 | -22.9% | 4.4% |
| 9 | Norway | 5,720 | 5,701 | +0.3% | 4.1% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 5,518 | 5,223 | +5.6% | 3.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2005:
| Region | Occupancy 2005 | Occupancy 2004 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 79.0% | 81.4% | -2.4 pp |
| East | 78.6% | 80.4% | -1.8 pp |
| Total | 75.8% | 78.2% | -2.4 pp |
| North | 75.6% | 81.7% | -6.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 70.2% | 69.2% | +1.0 pp |
| South | 68.5% | 70.5% | -2.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2005 was 2,565.19 million ISK (2.57 billion ISK), compared to 2,380 million ISK in July 2004.
This represents a +7.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 18,101 overnight stays in hotels in July 2005, up 27.4% from 14,213 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