Summary
May 2014 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 144,118 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 127,420 in May 2013—a +13.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 58.9%, up 1.8 percentage points from 57.1% in 2013. Foreign card spending totaled 9.1 billion ISK (+27.8% YoY).
May 2014 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 661,146, up 18.7% on the same period of 2013. Within 2014, May ranked 7th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for May over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 41.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 17.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 45.8%. Hotel occupancy of 58.9% 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 2014, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2014 | Nights 2013 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 24,716 | 20,522 | +20.4% | 17.1% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 21,141 | 18,081 | +16.9% | 14.7% |
| 3 | Germany | 20,088 | 21,182 | -5.2% | 13.9% |
| 4 | Sweden | 11,347 | 8,566 | +32.5% | 7.9% |
| 5 | Norway | 11,297 | 13,443 | -16.0% | 7.8% |
| 6 | Denmark | 9,229 | 5,792 | +59.3% | 6.4% |
| 7 | France | 7,302 | 8,453 | -13.6% | 5.1% |
| 8 | Canada | 5,398 | 3,196 | +68.9% | 3.7% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 4,631 | 3,590 | +29.0% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Finland | 4,039 | 3,372 | +19.8% | 2.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2014:
| Region | Occupancy 2014 | Occupancy 2013 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 74.8% | 71.3% | +3.5 pp |
| Total | 58.9% | 57.1% | +1.8 pp |
| Reykjanes | 55.8% | 58.2% | -2.4 pp |
| North | 40.4% | 38.2% | +2.2 pp |
| South | 38.4% | 38.2% | +0.2 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 33.9% | 34.2% | -0.3 pp |
| East | 31.7% | 27.7% | +4.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2014 was 9,062.86 million ISK (9.06 billion ISK), compared to 7,092.8 million ISK in May 2013.
This represents a +27.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 35,838 overnight stays in hotels in May 2014, up 8.2% from 33,137 in 2013.
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