Summary
July 2013 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 259,104 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 237,392 in July 2012—a +9.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 89.7%, up 0.8 percentage points from 88.9% in 2012. Foreign card spending totaled 15.4 billion ISK (+18.0% YoY).
July 2013 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 1,017,953, up 17.5% on the same period of 2012. Within 2013, 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 32.2%.
Germany was the largest source market with 24.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 48.8%. Hotel occupancy of 89.7% 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 2013, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2013 | Nights 2012 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 64,473 | 60,227 | +7.0% | 24.9% |
| 2 | United States of America | 38,120 | 31,353 | +21.6% | 14.7% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 23,886 | 21,452 | +11.3% | 9.2% |
| 4 | France | 16,032 | 15,542 | +3.2% | 6.2% |
| 5 | Norway | 12,584 | 10,612 | +18.6% | 4.9% |
| 6 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 11,096 | 9,560 | +16.1% | 4.3% |
| 7 | Denmark | 10,669 | 10,569 | +0.9% | 4.1% |
| 8 | Sweden | 10,462 | 11,305 | -7.5% | 4.0% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 8,724 | 7,958 | +9.6% | 3.4% |
| 10 | Italy | 8,530 | 7,396 | +15.3% | 3.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2013:
| Region | Occupancy 2013 | Occupancy 2012 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 92.2% | 91.9% | +0.3 pp |
| Total | 89.7% | 88.9% | +0.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 89.5% | 85.2% | +4.3 pp |
| South | 89.0% | 90.2% | -1.2 pp |
| North | 87.0% | 81.2% | +5.8 pp |
| East | 80.3% | 80.9% | -0.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 80.2% | 78.8% | +1.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2013 was 15,445.55 million ISK (15.45 billion ISK), compared to 13,087.38 million ISK in July 2012.
This represents a +18.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 26,331 overnight stays in hotels in July 2013, down 0.3% from 26,405 in 2012.
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