Summary
July 2015 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 338,364 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 273,702 in July 2014—a +23.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 88.3%, up 1.5 percentage points from 86.8% in 2014. Foreign card spending totaled 24.0 billion ISK (+29.9% YoY).
July 2015 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 1,435,046, up 24.9% on the same period of 2014. Within 2015, 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 46.7%.
Germany was the largest source market with 24.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 51.9%. Hotel occupancy of 88.3% 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 2015, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2015 | Nights 2014 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 81,106 | 64,352 | +26.0% | 24.0% |
| 2 | United States of America | 61,775 | 46,796 | +32.0% | 18.3% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 32,881 | 27,481 | +19.6% | 9.7% |
| 4 | France | 18,576 | 14,531 | +27.8% | 5.5% |
| 5 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 13,248 | 10,576 | +25.3% | 3.9% |
| 6 | Sweden | 12,160 | 11,309 | +7.5% | 3.6% |
| 7 | Denmark | 12,064 | 11,804 | +2.2% | 3.6% |
| 8 | China | 12,040 | 5,966 | +101.8% | 3.6% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 11,652 | 8,722 | +33.6% | 3.4% |
| 10 | Spain | 11,531 | 9,383 | +22.9% | 3.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2015:
| Region | Occupancy 2015 | Occupancy 2014 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 89.9% | 85.4% | +4.5 pp |
| Capital Region | 89.9% | 90.7% | -0.8 pp |
| South | 89.3% | 79.4% | +9.9 pp |
| Total | 88.3% | 86.8% | +1.5 pp |
| Reykjanes | 88.2% | 78.8% | +9.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 86.9% | 84.1% | +2.8 pp |
| North | 78.5% | 87.3% | -8.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2015 was 24,046.27 million ISK (24.05 billion ISK), compared to 18,507.1 million ISK in July 2014.
This represents a +29.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 25,470 overnight stays in hotels in July 2015, down 1.0% from 25,717 in 2014.
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