Summary
March 2019 was part of Iceland's winter season, prime time for northern lights and ice cave tours. Foreign guests recorded 342,019 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 336,516 in March 2018—a +1.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 65.9%, down 3.4 percentage points from 69.3% in 2018. Foreign card spending totaled 18.3 billion ISK (-0.9% YoY).
March 2019 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through March, reached 910,572, down 1.1% on the same period of 2018. Within 2019, 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 34.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 29.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 60.8%. Hotel occupancy of 65.9% 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 2019, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2019 | Nights 2018 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 100,613 | 100,175 | +0.4% | 29.4% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 83,281 | 86,879 | -4.1% | 24.3% |
| 3 | Germany | 24,164 | 22,273 | +8.5% | 7.1% |
| 4 | China | 17,571 | 17,285 | +1.7% | 5.1% |
| 5 | Other Asian countries | 16,934 | 15,531 | +9.0% | 5.0% |
| 6 | France | 14,252 | 12,533 | +13.7% | 4.2% |
| 7 | Denmark | 8,829 | 6,546 | +34.9% | 2.6% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 7,497 | 6,862 | +9.3% | 2.2% |
| 9 | Spain | 7,088 | 8,937 | -20.7% | 2.1% |
| 10 | Italy | 6,380 | 5,611 | +13.7% | 1.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for March 2019:
| Region | Occupancy 2019 | Occupancy 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 79.8% | 84.6% | -4.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 68.4% | 62.0% | +6.4 pp |
| Total | 65.9% | 69.3% | -3.4 pp |
| South | 62.4% | 68.2% | -5.8 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 40.1% | 41.0% | -0.9 pp |
| North | 37.8% | 35.3% | +2.5 pp |
| East | 26.2% | 23.1% | +3.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in March 2019 was 18,292.14 million ISK (18.29 billion ISK), compared to 18,459.7 million ISK in March 2018.
This represents a -0.9% 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 40,338 overnight stays in hotels in March 2019, down 10.9% from 45,287 in 2018.
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