Summary
March 2014 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 157,413 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 133,895 in March 2013—a +17.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 63.0%, up 3.9 percentage points from 59.1% in 2013. Foreign card spending totaled 6.9 billion ISK (+25.2% YoY).
March 2014 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 392,545, up 20.6% on the same period of 2013. Within 2014, March ranked 5th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 80.7%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 37.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 69.2%. Hotel occupancy of 63.0% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 2014, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2014 | Nights 2013 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 58,830 | 46,760 | +25.8% | 37.4% |
| 2 | United States of America | 40,205 | 24,911 | +61.4% | 25.5% |
| 3 | Germany | 9,892 | 9,645 | +2.6% | 6.3% |
| 4 | Norway | 6,208 | 7,045 | -11.9% | 3.9% |
| 5 | France | 6,091 | 5,352 | +13.8% | 3.9% |
| 6 | Canada | 5,210 | 3,172 | +64.2% | 3.3% |
| 7 | Sweden | 4,995 | 5,623 | -11.2% | 3.2% |
| 8 | Japan | 4,823 | 5,555 | -13.2% | 3.1% |
| 9 | Denmark | 3,868 | 4,531 | -14.6% | 2.5% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 3,494 | 4,241 | -17.6% | 2.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2014:
| Region | Occupancy 2014 | Occupancy 2013 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 84.5% | 76.0% | +8.5 pp |
| Total | 63.0% | 59.1% | +3.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 46.2% | 44.5% | +1.7 pp |
| South | 35.8% | 39.9% | -4.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 32.3% | 38.9% | -6.6 pp |
| East | 30.4% | 13.7% | +16.7 pp |
| North | 27.8% | 32.9% | -5.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2014 was 6,868.63 million ISK (6.87 billion ISK), compared to 5,487.61 million ISK in March 2013.
This represents a +25.2% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 32,591 overnight stays in hotels in March 2014, down 3.1% from 33,649 in 2013.
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