Summary
March 2003 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 43,378 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 43,629 in March 2002—a -0.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 46.4%, down 1.4 percentage points from 47.8% in 2002. Foreign card spending totaled 0.7 billion ISK (0.0% YoY).
March 2003 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 99,235, up 0.1% on the same period of 2002. Within 2003, March ranked 8th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 17.3%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 25.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 48.7%. Hotel occupancy of 46.4% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is typical of Iceland's low season, when many rural hotels close and demand concentrates in Reykjavík. 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 March 2003, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2003 | Nights 2002 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 10,943 | 11,386 | -3.9% | 25.2% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,694 | 8,985 | -36.6% | 13.1% |
| 3 | Sweden | 4,495 | 3,505 | +28.2% | 10.4% |
| 4 | Norway | 3,801 | 3,008 | +26.4% | 8.8% |
| 5 | Germany | 3,387 | 4,663 | -27.4% | 7.8% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 3,326 | 1,660 | +100.4% | 7.7% |
| 7 | Denmark | 3,244 | 2,791 | +16.2% | 7.5% |
| 8 | France | 2,400 | 1,794 | +33.8% | 5.5% |
| 9 | Finland | 1,385 | 1,000 | +38.5% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Other European countries | 1,120 | 673 | +66.4% | 2.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2003:
| Region | Occupancy 2003 | Occupancy 2002 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 65.2% | 63.4% | +1.8 pp |
| Total | 46.4% | 47.8% | -1.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 28.6% | 28.7% | -0.1 pp |
| South | 26.3% | 33.1% | -6.8 pp |
| East | 25.3% | 15.6% | +9.7 pp |
| North | 21.7% | 25.0% | -3.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2003 was 663.9 million ISK (0.66 billion ISK), compared to 0 million ISK in March 2002.
This represents a 0.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 20,416 overnight stays in hotels in March 2003, up 5.8% from 19,293 in 2002.
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