Summary
July 2014 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 273,702 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 259,104 in July 2013—a +5.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 86.8%, down 2.9 percentage points from 89.7% in 2013. Foreign card spending totaled 18.5 billion ISK (+19.8% YoY).
July 2014 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 1,148,901, up 12.9% on the same period of 2013. Within 2014, 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 28.9%.
Germany was the largest source market with 23.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 50.6%. Hotel occupancy of 86.8% 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 2014, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2014 | Nights 2013 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 64,352 | 64,473 | -0.2% | 23.5% |
| 2 | United States of America | 46,796 | 38,120 | +22.8% | 17.1% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 27,481 | 23,886 | +15.1% | 10.0% |
| 4 | France | 14,531 | 16,032 | -9.4% | 5.3% |
| 5 | Denmark | 11,804 | 10,669 | +10.6% | 4.3% |
| 6 | Sweden | 11,309 | 10,462 | +8.1% | 4.1% |
| 7 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 10,576 | 11,096 | -4.7% | 3.9% |
| 8 | Spain | 9,383 | 7,964 | +17.8% | 3.4% |
| 9 | Italy | 8,788 | 8,530 | +3.0% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Norway | 8,788 | 12,584 | -30.2% | 3.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2014:
| Region | Occupancy 2014 | Occupancy 2013 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 90.7% | 92.2% | -1.5 pp |
| North | 87.3% | 87.0% | +0.3 pp |
| Total | 86.8% | 89.7% | -2.9 pp |
| East | 85.4% | 80.3% | +5.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 84.1% | 80.2% | +3.9 pp |
| South | 79.4% | 89.0% | -9.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 78.8% | 89.5% | -10.7 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2014 was 18,507.1 million ISK (18.51 billion ISK), compared to 15,445.55 million ISK in July 2013.
This represents a +19.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 25,717 overnight stays in hotels in July 2014, down 2.3% from 26,331 in 2013.
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