Summary
March 2018 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 336,516 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 320,450 in March 2017—a +5.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 69.3%, down 5.1 percentage points from 74.4% in 2017. Foreign card spending totaled 18.5 billion ISK (-9.7% YoY).
March 2018 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 921,156, up 4.4% on the same period of 2017. Within 2018, 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 57.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 29.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 62.2%. Hotel occupancy of 69.3% 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 2018, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2018 | Nights 2017 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 100,175 | 95,804 | +4.6% | 29.8% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 86,879 | 93,127 | -6.7% | 25.8% |
| 3 | Germany | 22,273 | 25,416 | -12.4% | 6.6% |
| 4 | China | 17,285 | 10,623 | +62.7% | 5.1% |
| 5 | Other Asian countries | 15,531 | 12,970 | +19.7% | 4.6% |
| 6 | France | 12,533 | 10,536 | +19.0% | 3.7% |
| 7 | Spain | 8,937 | 5,754 | +55.3% | 2.7% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 6,862 | 9,600 | -28.5% | 2.0% |
| 9 | Canada | 6,845 | 5,800 | +18.0% | 2.0% |
| 10 | Denmark | 6,546 | 5,279 | +24.0% | 1.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2018:
| Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 84.6% | 92.5% | -7.9 pp |
| Total | 69.3% | 74.4% | -5.1 pp |
| South | 68.2% | 68.0% | +0.2 pp |
| Reykjanes | 62.0% | 80.0% | -18.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 41.0% | 44.7% | -3.7 pp |
| North | 35.3% | 34.5% | +0.8 pp |
| East | 23.1% | 15.0% | +8.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2018 was 18,459.7 million ISK (18.46 billion ISK), compared to 20,445.37 million ISK in March 2017.
This represents a -9.7% year-over-year change. Despite growth in overnight stays in hotels, spending declined—possibly reflecting lower per-visitor expenditure or shifts in spending patterns.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 45,287 overnight stays in hotels in March 2018, up 19.7% from 37,823 in 2017.
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