Summary
March 2016 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 264,893 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 190,562 in March 2015—a +39.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 69.0%, up 7.0 percentage points from 62.0% in 2015. Foreign card spending totaled 15.0 billion ISK (+53.7% YoY).
March 2016 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 683,614, up 36.9% on the same period of 2015. Within 2016, 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 101.9%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 33.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 65.7%. Hotel occupancy of 69.0% 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 2016, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2016 | Nights 2015 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 87,674 | 71,408 | +22.8% | 33.1% |
| 2 | United States of America | 65,145 | 41,841 | +55.7% | 24.6% |
| 3 | Germany | 21,170 | 18,477 | +14.6% | 8.0% |
| 4 | France | 9,697 | 8,184 | +18.5% | 3.7% |
| 5 | Japan | 8,422 | 3,996 | +110.8% | 3.2% |
| 6 | Canada | 6,976 | 4,987 | +39.9% | 2.6% |
| 7 | Sweden | 6,633 | 5,656 | +17.3% | 2.5% |
| 8 | Other Asian countries | 6,490 | 3,293 | +97.1% | 2.5% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 6,172 | 4,606 | +34.0% | 2.3% |
| 10 | China | 6,142 | 1,725 | +256.1% | 2.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2016:
| Region | Occupancy 2016 | Occupancy 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 88.6% | 84.5% | +4.1 pp |
| Total | 69.0% | 62.0% | +7.0 pp |
| Reykjanes | 67.4% | 61.8% | +5.6 pp |
| South | 55.7% | 42.9% | +12.8 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 36.6% | 32.1% | +4.5 pp |
| North | 35.4% | 24.7% | +10.7 pp |
| East | 15.9% | 14.4% | +1.5 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2016 was 15,043.75 million ISK (15.04 billion ISK), compared to 9,788.98 million ISK in March 2015.
This represents a +53.7% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 36,438 overnight stays in hotels in March 2016, up 20.2% from 30,318 in 2015.
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