Summary
June 2011 was part of Iceland's peak summer season, characterized by midnight sun and maximum tourist activity. Foreign guests recorded 154,053 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 138,786 in June 2010—a +11.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 70.0%, up 4.2 percentage points from 65.8% in 2010. Foreign card spending totaled 8.0 billion ISK (+45.2% YoY).
June 2011 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through June, reached 507,388, up 11.3% on the same period of 2010. Within 2011, June ranked 3rd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for June over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 21.2%.
Germany was the largest source market with 22.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 46.3%. Hotel occupancy of 70.0% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 June 2011, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2011 | Nights 2010 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 34,236 | 36,911 | -7.2% | 22.2% |
| 2 | United States of America | 22,349 | 14,386 | +55.4% | 14.5% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 14,731 | 15,951 | -7.6% | 9.6% |
| 4 | Norway | 12,636 | 10,320 | +22.4% | 8.2% |
| 5 | Sweden | 9,631 | 7,636 | +26.1% | 6.3% |
| 6 | France | 8,498 | 7,263 | +17.0% | 5.5% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 8,237 | 5,611 | +46.8% | 5.3% |
| 8 | Denmark | 8,204 | 9,935 | -17.4% | 5.3% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 6,018 | 4,966 | +21.2% | 3.9% |
| 10 | Other Asian countries | 4,020 | 2,262 | +77.7% | 2.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for June 2011:
| Region | Occupancy 2011 | Occupancy 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 78.3% | 70.7% | +7.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 70.1% | 67.0% | +3.1 pp |
| Total | 70.0% | 65.8% | +4.2 pp |
| South | 59.4% | 57.7% | +1.7 pp |
| North | 57.0% | 58.1% | -1.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 54.8% | 57.6% | -2.8 pp |
| East | 51.9% | 51.8% | +0.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in June 2011 was 7,951.13 million ISK (7.95 billion ISK), compared to 5,477.31 million ISK in June 2010.
This represents a +45.2% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 24,689 overnight stays in hotels in June 2011, up 39.5% from 17,692 in 2010.
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