Summary
March 2013 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 133,895 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 102,970 in March 2012—a +30.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 59.1%, up 7.8 percentage points from 51.3% in 2012. Foreign card spending totaled 5.5 billion ISK (+44.6% YoY).
March 2013 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 325,628, up 34.9% on the same period of 2012. Within 2013, March ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 86.5%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 34.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 60.7%. Hotel occupancy of 59.1% 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 2013, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2013 | Nights 2012 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 46,760 | 31,476 | +48.6% | 34.9% |
| 2 | United States of America | 24,911 | 16,971 | +46.8% | 18.6% |
| 3 | Germany | 9,645 | 7,731 | +24.8% | 7.2% |
| 4 | Norway | 7,045 | 8,833 | -20.2% | 5.3% |
| 5 | Sweden | 5,623 | 5,496 | +2.3% | 4.2% |
| 6 | Japan | 5,555 | 2,663 | +108.6% | 4.1% |
| 7 | France | 5,352 | 6,150 | -13.0% | 4.0% |
| 8 | Denmark | 4,531 | 5,570 | -18.7% | 3.4% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 4,241 | 3,569 | +18.8% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Canada | 3,172 | 957 | +231.5% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2013:
| Region | Occupancy 2013 | Occupancy 2012 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 76.0% | 67.9% | +8.1 pp |
| Total | 59.1% | 51.3% | +7.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 44.5% | 46.0% | -1.5 pp |
| South | 39.9% | 28.5% | +11.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 38.9% | 23.8% | +15.1 pp |
| North | 32.9% | 22.7% | +10.2 pp |
| East | 13.7% | 13.7% | +0.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2013 was 5,487.61 million ISK (5.49 billion ISK), compared to 3,795.89 million ISK in March 2012.
This represents a +44.6% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 33,649 overnight stays in hotels in March 2013, up 10.2% from 30,547 in 2012.
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