Summary
March 2010 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 69,525 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 57,984 in March 2009—a +19.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 40.7%, up 3.4 percentage points from 37.3% in 2009. Foreign card spending totaled 2.9 billion ISK (+34.8% YoY).
March 2010 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 169,525, up 10.3% on the same period of 2009. Within 2010, March ranked 7th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 29.1%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 31.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 52.0%. Hotel occupancy of 40.7% 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 2010, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2010 | Nights 2009 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 21,660 | 16,981 | +27.6% | 31.2% |
| 2 | United States of America | 8,465 | 7,193 | +17.7% | 12.2% |
| 3 | Norway | 6,023 | 4,916 | +22.5% | 8.7% |
| 4 | Denmark | 4,857 | 4,699 | +3.4% | 7.0% |
| 5 | Germany | 4,837 | 5,041 | -4.0% | 7.0% |
| 6 | Sweden | 4,224 | 4,482 | -5.8% | 6.1% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 3,698 | 2,296 | +61.1% | 5.3% |
| 8 | France | 3,680 | 2,112 | +74.2% | 5.3% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3,514 | 3,551 | -1.0% | 5.1% |
| 10 | Finland | 2,002 | 1,083 | +84.9% | 2.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2010:
| Region | Occupancy 2010 | Occupancy 2009 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 50.7% | 45.5% | +5.2 pp |
| Total | 40.7% | 37.3% | +3.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 35.1% | 38.2% | -3.1 pp |
| South | 30.8% | 28.2% | +2.6 pp |
| North | 21.5% | 21.8% | -0.3 pp |
| East | 15.7% | 16.0% | -0.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 14.3% | 13.4% | +0.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2010 was 2,926.76 million ISK (2.93 billion ISK), compared to 2,171.41 million ISK in March 2009.
This represents a +34.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 25,867 overnight stays in hotels in March 2010, down 2.4% from 26,496 in 2009.
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