Summary
July 2016 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 422,020 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 338,364 in July 2015—a +24.7% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 91.7%, up 3.4 percentage points from 88.3% in 2015. Foreign card spending totaled 31.8 billion ISK (+32.2% YoY).
July 2016 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 1,891,566, up 31.8% on the same period of 2015. Within 2016, 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 60.8%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 24.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.1%. Hotel occupancy of 91.7% 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 2016, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2016 | Nights 2015 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 103,182 | 61,775 | +67.0% | 24.4% |
| 2 | Germany | 86,135 | 81,106 | +6.2% | 20.4% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 43,058 | 32,881 | +31.0% | 10.2% |
| 4 | France | 21,625 | 18,576 | +16.4% | 5.1% |
| 5 | China | 17,335 | 12,040 | +44.0% | 4.1% |
| 6 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 14,811 | 13,248 | +11.8% | 3.5% |
| 7 | Denmark | 14,209 | 12,064 | +17.8% | 3.4% |
| 8 | Spain | 13,445 | 11,531 | +16.6% | 3.2% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 13,401 | 11,652 | +15.0% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Sweden | 12,349 | 12,160 | +1.6% | 2.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2016:
| Region | Occupancy 2016 | Occupancy 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 98.3% | 88.2% | +10.1 pp |
| Capital Region | 94.3% | 89.9% | +4.4 pp |
| Total | 91.7% | 88.3% | +3.4 pp |
| South | 89.1% | 89.3% | -0.2 pp |
| North | 88.2% | 78.5% | +9.7 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 86.5% | 86.9% | -0.4 pp |
| East | 84.3% | 89.9% | -5.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2016 was 31,797.76 million ISK (31.80 billion ISK), compared to 24,046.27 million ISK in July 2015.
This represents a +32.2% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 33,494 overnight stays in hotels in July 2016, up 31.5% from 25,470 in 2015.
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