Summary
March 2017 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 320,450 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 264,893 in March 2016—a +21.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 74.4%, up 5.4 percentage points from 69.0% in 2016. Foreign card spending totaled 20.4 billion ISK (+35.9% YoY).
March 2017 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 882,643, up 29.1% on the same period of 2016. Within 2017, March ranked 6th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for March over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 88.6%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 29.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 66.9%. Hotel occupancy of 74.4% 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 2017, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2017 | Nights 2016 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 95,804 | 65,145 | +47.1% | 29.9% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 93,127 | 87,674 | +6.2% | 29.1% |
| 3 | Germany | 25,416 | 21,170 | +20.1% | 7.9% |
| 4 | Other Asian countries | 12,970 | 6,490 | +99.8% | 4.0% |
| 5 | China | 10,623 | 6,142 | +73.0% | 3.3% |
| 6 | France | 10,536 | 9,697 | +8.7% | 3.3% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 9,600 | 6,172 | +55.5% | 3.0% |
| 8 | Japan | 8,533 | 8,422 | +1.3% | 2.7% |
| 9 | Canada | 5,800 | 6,976 | -16.9% | 1.8% |
| 10 | Spain | 5,754 | 5,196 | +10.7% | 1.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2017:
| Region | Occupancy 2017 | Occupancy 2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 92.5% | 88.6% | +3.9 pp |
| Reykjanes | 80.0% | 67.4% | +12.6 pp |
| Total | 74.4% | 69.0% | +5.4 pp |
| South | 68.0% | 55.7% | +12.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 44.7% | 36.6% | +8.1 pp |
| North | 34.5% | 35.4% | -0.9 pp |
| East | 15.0% | 15.9% | -0.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2017 was 20,445.37 million ISK (20.45 billion ISK), compared to 15,043.75 million ISK in March 2016.
This represents a +35.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 37,823 overnight stays in hotels in March 2017, up 3.8% from 36,438 in 2016.
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