Summary
March 2012 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 102,970 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 71,309 in March 2011—a +44.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 51.3%, up 9.7 percentage points from 41.6% in 2011. Foreign card spending totaled 3.8 billion ISK (+9.3% YoY).
March 2012 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 241,401, up 38.8% on the same period of 2011. Within 2012, 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 62.3%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 30.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.6%. Hotel occupancy of 51.3% 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 2012, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2012 | Nights 2011 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 31,476 | 19,142 | +64.4% | 30.6% |
| 2 | United States of America | 16,971 | 9,749 | +74.1% | 16.5% |
| 3 | Norway | 8,833 | 5,313 | +66.3% | 8.6% |
| 4 | Germany | 7,731 | 7,093 | +9.0% | 7.5% |
| 5 | France | 6,150 | 4,419 | +39.2% | 6.0% |
| 6 | Denmark | 5,570 | 3,342 | +66.7% | 5.4% |
| 7 | Sweden | 5,496 | 5,025 | +9.4% | 5.3% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 5,417 | 5,434 | -0.3% | 5.3% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3,569 | 3,711 | -3.8% | 3.5% |
| 10 | Japan | 2,663 | 1,375 | +93.7% | 2.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2012:
| Region | Occupancy 2012 | Occupancy 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 67.9% | 54.5% | +13.4 pp |
| Total | 51.3% | 41.6% | +9.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 46.0% | 41.0% | +5.0 pp |
| South | 28.5% | 22.4% | +6.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 23.8% | 15.1% | +8.7 pp |
| North | 22.7% | 19.7% | +3.0 pp |
| East | 13.7% | 15.3% | -1.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2012 was 3,795.89 million ISK (3.80 billion ISK), compared to 3,472.91 million ISK in March 2011.
This represents a +9.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 30,547 overnight stays in hotels in March 2012, up 17.5% from 25,990 in 2011.
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