Summary
March 2004 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 48,294 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 43,378 in March 2003—a +11.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 42.3%, down 4.1 percentage points from 46.4% in 2003. Foreign card spending totaled 0.8 billion ISK (+18.8% YoY).
March 2004 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 109,473, up 10.3% on the same period of 2003. Within 2004, 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 20.6%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 21.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 46.0%. Hotel occupancy of 42.3% 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 2004, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2004 | Nights 2003 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 10,561 | 10,943 | -3.5% | 21.9% |
| 2 | Sweden | 5,931 | 4,495 | +31.9% | 12.3% |
| 3 | United States of America | 5,739 | 5,694 | +0.8% | 11.9% |
| 4 | Norway | 5,271 | 3,801 | +38.7% | 10.9% |
| 5 | Germany | 4,377 | 3,387 | +29.2% | 9.1% |
| 6 | Denmark | 4,141 | 3,244 | +27.7% | 8.6% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 2,816 | 1,120 | +151.4% | 5.8% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 2,206 | 3,326 | -33.7% | 4.6% |
| 9 | France | 1,967 | 2,400 | -18.0% | 4.1% |
| 10 | Finland | 1,228 | 1,385 | -11.3% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2004:
| Region | Occupancy 2004 | Occupancy 2003 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 55.1% | 65.2% | -10.1 pp |
| Total | 42.3% | 46.4% | -4.1 pp |
| East | 31.9% | 25.3% | +6.6 pp |
| South | 28.9% | 26.3% | +2.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 22.6% | 28.6% | -6.0 pp |
| North | 18.5% | 21.7% | -3.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2004 was 789 million ISK (0.79 billion ISK), compared to 663.9 million ISK in March 2003.
This represents a +18.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 19,768 overnight stays in hotels in March 2004, down 3.2% from 20,416 in 2003.
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