Summary
May 2007 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 91,367 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 81,878 in May 2006—a +11.6% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 55.0%, down 1.1 percentage points from 56.1% in 2006. Foreign card spending totaled 1.9 billion ISK (+10.8% YoY).
May 2007 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 301,177, up 19.8% on the same period of 2006. Within 2007, May ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for May over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 38.0%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 20.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 46.1%. Hotel occupancy of 55.0% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is typical of Iceland's low season, when many rural hotels close and demand concentrates in Reykjavík. 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 May 2007, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2007 | Nights 2006 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 18,900 | 14,739 | +28.2% | 20.7% |
| 2 | United States of America | 12,807 | 11,750 | +9.0% | 14.0% |
| 3 | Germany | 10,456 | 8,482 | +23.3% | 11.4% |
| 4 | Sweden | 8,418 | 9,479 | -11.2% | 9.2% |
| 5 | Norway | 7,904 | 7,594 | +4.1% | 8.7% |
| 6 | Denmark | 6,214 | 8,277 | -24.9% | 6.8% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 4,948 | 4,836 | +2.3% | 5.4% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 4,354 | 3,020 | +44.2% | 4.8% |
| 9 | France | 3,421 | 2,946 | +16.1% | 3.7% |
| 10 | Finland | 2,953 | 2,851 | +3.6% | 3.2% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2007:
| Region | Occupancy 2007 | Occupancy 2006 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 66.2% | 71.9% | -5.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 61.7% | 0.0% | +61.7 pp |
| Total | 55.0% | 56.1% | -1.1 pp |
| East | 39.8% | 35.8% | +4.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 36.7% | 39.8% | -3.1 pp |
| North | 36.6% | 34.4% | +2.2 pp |
| South | 34.8% | 32.9% | +1.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2007 was 1,857.35 million ISK (1.86 billion ISK), compared to 1,676.24 million ISK in May 2006.
This represents a +10.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 26,072 overnight stays in hotels in May 2007, up 33.4% from 19,551 in 2006.
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