Summary
March 2007 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 61,160 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 47,795 in March 2006—a +28.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 46.3%, up 4.2 percentage points from 42.1% in 2006. Foreign card spending totaled 1.4 billion ISK (+41.0% YoY).
March 2007 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 143,939, up 27.4% on the same period of 2006. Within 2007, 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 34.0%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 27.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 49.5%. Hotel occupancy of 46.3% 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 2007, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2007 | Nights 2006 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 16,794 | 10,889 | +54.2% | 27.5% |
| 2 | United States of America | 6,780 | 6,347 | +6.8% | 11.1% |
| 3 | Denmark | 6,688 | 4,373 | +52.9% | 10.9% |
| 4 | Norway | 5,955 | 6,004 | -0.8% | 9.7% |
| 5 | Sweden | 5,306 | 3,762 | +41.0% | 8.7% |
| 6 | Germany | 3,773 | 3,637 | +3.7% | 6.2% |
| 7 | France | 2,874 | 2,439 | +17.8% | 4.7% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 2,651 | 2,159 | +22.8% | 4.3% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 2,203 | 2,484 | -11.3% | 3.6% |
| 10 | Italy | 1,278 | 353 | +262.0% | 2.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2007:
| Region | Occupancy 2007 | Occupancy 2006 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 64.8% | 14.7% | +50.1 pp |
| Reykjanes | 60.8% | 0.0% | +60.8 pp |
| Capital Region | 57.4% | 52.1% | +5.3 pp |
| Total | 46.3% | 42.1% | +4.2 pp |
| South | 27.2% | 26.4% | +0.8 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 25.4% | 48.2% | -22.8 pp |
| North | 20.7% | 20.7% | +0.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2007 was 1,369.1 million ISK (1.37 billion ISK), compared to 971.33 million ISK in March 2006.
This represents a +41.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 26,951 overnight stays in hotels in March 2007, up 4.2% from 25,860 in 2006.
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