Summary
March 2008 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 57,162 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 61,160 in March 2007—a -6.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 37.2%, down 9.1 percentage points from 46.3% in 2007. Foreign card spending totaled 1.5 billion ISK (+10.8% YoY).
March 2008 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 151,141, up 5.0% on the same period of 2007. Within 2008, 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 16.3%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 28.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 47.1%. Hotel occupancy of 37.2% 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 2008, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2008 | Nights 2007 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 16,111 | 16,794 | -4.1% | 28.2% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,534 | 6,780 | -18.4% | 9.7% |
| 3 | Germany | 5,252 | 3,773 | +39.2% | 9.2% |
| 4 | Sweden | 4,357 | 5,306 | -17.9% | 7.6% |
| 5 | Norway | 3,816 | 5,955 | -35.9% | 6.7% |
| 6 | Denmark | 3,648 | 6,688 | -45.5% | 6.4% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 2,941 | 2,203 | +33.5% | 5.1% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 2,878 | 2,651 | +8.6% | 5.0% |
| 9 | France | 2,675 | 2,874 | -6.9% | 4.7% |
| 10 | Japan | 2,289 | 1,107 | +106.8% | 4.0% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2008:
| Region | Occupancy 2008 | Occupancy 2007 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 46.2% | 57.4% | -11.2 pp |
| Reykjanes | 44.8% | 60.8% | -16.0 pp |
| Total | 37.2% | 46.3% | -9.1 pp |
| South | 22.8% | 27.2% | -4.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 21.7% | 25.4% | -3.7 pp |
| North | 21.4% | 20.7% | +0.7 pp |
| East | 19.0% | 64.8% | -45.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2008 was 1,516.34 million ISK (1.52 billion ISK), compared to 1,369.1 million ISK in March 2007.
This represents a +10.8% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 25,767 overnight stays in hotels in March 2008, down 4.4% from 26,951 in 2007.
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