Summary
March 2005 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 45,157 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 48,294 in March 2004—a -6.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 36.4%, down 5.9 percentage points from 42.3% in 2004. Foreign card spending totaled 0.8 billion ISK (+3.3% YoY).
March 2005 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 107,188, down 2.1% on the same period of 2004. Within 2005, 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 3.1%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 26.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 48.1%. Hotel occupancy of 36.4% 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 2005, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2005 | Nights 2004 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 11,825 | 10,561 | +12.0% | 26.2% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,881 | 5,739 | +2.5% | 13.0% |
| 3 | Germany | 4,002 | 4,377 | -8.6% | 8.9% |
| 4 | Denmark | 3,968 | 4,141 | -4.2% | 8.8% |
| 5 | Sweden | 3,962 | 5,931 | -33.2% | 8.8% |
| 6 | Norway | 3,749 | 5,271 | -28.9% | 8.3% |
| 7 | France | 2,022 | 1,967 | +2.8% | 4.5% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 1,740 | 2,206 | -21.1% | 3.9% |
| 9 | Ireland | 1,529 | 707 | +116.3% | 3.4% |
| 10 | Japan | 1,472 | 1,167 | +26.1% | 3.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2005:
| Region | Occupancy 2005 | Occupancy 2004 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 50.2% | 55.1% | -4.9 pp |
| Total | 36.4% | 42.3% | -5.9 pp |
| North | 23.9% | 18.5% | +5.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 22.9% | 22.6% | +0.3 pp |
| East | 19.0% | 31.9% | -12.9 pp |
| South | 18.4% | 28.9% | -10.5 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2005 was 815.37 million ISK (0.82 billion ISK), compared to 789 million ISK in March 2004.
This represents a +3.3% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 20,024 overnight stays in hotels in March 2005, up 1.3% from 19,768 in 2004.
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