Summary
July 2011 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 204,073 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 178,629 in July 2010—a +14.2% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 82.1%, up 6.4 percentage points from 75.7% in 2010. Foreign card spending totaled 10.9 billion ISK (+27.2% YoY).
July 2011 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 711,461, up 12.1% on the same period of 2010. Within 2011, 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 17.3%.
Germany was the largest source market with 22.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 45.7%. Hotel occupancy of 82.1% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; at this level most hotels in the capital are effectively full on peak nights. 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 2011, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2011 | Nights 2010 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 46,361 | 48,873 | -5.1% | 22.7% |
| 2 | United States of America | 27,635 | 16,348 | +69.0% | 13.5% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 19,346 | 18,277 | +5.8% | 9.5% |
| 4 | France | 12,284 | 10,523 | +16.7% | 6.0% |
| 5 | Other European countries | 11,946 | 8,711 | +37.1% | 5.9% |
| 6 | Sweden | 11,597 | 9,517 | +21.9% | 5.7% |
| 7 | Norway | 10,435 | 9,619 | +8.5% | 5.1% |
| 8 | Denmark | 9,509 | 12,124 | -21.6% | 4.7% |
| 9 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 7,656 | 6,874 | +11.4% | 3.8% |
| 10 | Spain | 7,597 | 4,865 | +56.2% | 3.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2011:
| Region | Occupancy 2011 | Occupancy 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 83.4% | 73.7% | +9.7 pp |
| South | 82.4% | 80.5% | +1.9 pp |
| Total | 82.1% | 75.7% | +6.4 pp |
| North | 79.9% | 82.5% | -2.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 79.6% | 72.7% | +6.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 76.9% | 75.2% | +1.7 pp |
| East | 72.1% | 70.3% | +1.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2011 was 10,882.43 million ISK (10.88 billion ISK), compared to 8,557.33 million ISK in July 2010.
This represents a +27.2% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 23,407 overnight stays in hotels in July 2011, up 29.7% from 18,043 in 2010.
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