Summary
March 2011 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 71,309 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 69,525 in March 2010—a +2.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 41.6%, up 0.9 percentage points from 40.7% in 2010. Foreign card spending totaled 3.5 billion ISK (+18.7% YoY).
March 2011 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 173,935, up 2.6% on the same period of 2010. Within 2011, 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 21.4%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 26.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 50.5%. Hotel occupancy of 41.6% 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 2011, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2011 | Nights 2010 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 19,142 | 21,660 | -11.6% | 26.8% |
| 2 | United States of America | 9,749 | 8,465 | +15.2% | 13.7% |
| 3 | Germany | 7,093 | 4,837 | +46.6% | 9.9% |
| 4 | Other European countries | 5,434 | 3,698 | +46.9% | 7.6% |
| 5 | Norway | 5,313 | 6,023 | -11.8% | 7.5% |
| 6 | Sweden | 5,025 | 4,224 | +19.0% | 7.0% |
| 7 | France | 4,419 | 3,680 | +20.1% | 6.2% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 3,711 | 3,514 | +5.6% | 5.2% |
| 9 | Denmark | 3,342 | 4,857 | -31.2% | 4.7% |
| 10 | Japan | 1,375 | 1,881 | -26.9% | 1.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2011:
| Region | Occupancy 2011 | Occupancy 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 54.5% | 50.7% | +3.8 pp |
| Total | 41.6% | 40.7% | +0.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 41.0% | 35.1% | +5.9 pp |
| South | 22.4% | 30.8% | -8.4 pp |
| North | 19.7% | 21.5% | -1.8 pp |
| East | 15.3% | 15.7% | -0.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 15.1% | 14.3% | +0.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2011 was 3,472.91 million ISK (3.47 billion ISK), compared to 2,926.76 million ISK in March 2010.
This represents a +18.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 25,990 overnight stays in hotels in March 2011, up 0.5% from 25,867 in 2010.
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