Summary
July 2017 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 434,937 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 422,020 in July 2016—a +3.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 89.2%, down 2.5 percentage points from 91.7% in 2016. Foreign card spending totaled 33.6 billion ISK (+5.5% YoY).
July 2017 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through July, reached 2,211,516, up 16.9% on the same period of 2016. Within 2017, 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 42.1%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 29.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.1%. Hotel occupancy of 89.2% 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 2017, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2017 | Nights 2016 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 128,441 | 103,182 | +24.5% | 29.5% |
| 2 | Germany | 76,022 | 86,135 | -11.7% | 17.5% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 35,077 | 43,058 | -18.5% | 8.1% |
| 4 | China | 21,132 | 17,335 | +21.9% | 4.9% |
| 5 | France | 20,158 | 21,625 | -6.8% | 4.6% |
| 6 | Spain | 14,513 | 13,445 | +7.9% | 3.3% |
| 7 | Switzerland (incl. Liechtenstein) | 13,490 | 14,811 | -8.9% | 3.1% |
| 8 | Denmark | 12,250 | 14,209 | -13.8% | 2.8% |
| 9 | Italy | 12,051 | 11,876 | +1.5% | 2.8% |
| 10 | Sweden | 11,803 | 12,349 | -4.4% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for July 2017:
| Region | Occupancy 2017 | Occupancy 2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 92.7% | 94.3% | -1.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 89.9% | 98.3% | -8.4 pp |
| South | 89.7% | 89.1% | +0.6 pp |
| Total | 89.2% | 91.7% | -2.5 pp |
| North | 81.6% | 88.2% | -6.6 pp |
| East | 80.2% | 84.3% | -4.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 79.3% | 86.5% | -7.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in July 2017 was 33,558.91 million ISK (33.56 billion ISK), compared to 31,797.76 million ISK in July 2016.
This represents a +5.5% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 38,667 overnight stays in hotels in July 2017, up 15.4% from 33,494 in 2016.
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