Summary
May 2015 was part of Iceland's late spring, transitioning into high season as weather improves. Foreign guests recorded 189,031 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 144,118 in May 2014—a +31.2% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 60.9%, up 2.0 percentage points from 58.9% in 2014. Foreign card spending totaled 13.2 billion ISK (+45.6% YoY).
May 2015 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through May, reached 835,099, up 26.3% on the same period of 2014. Within 2015, 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 67.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 21.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 51.4%. Hotel occupancy of 60.9% 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 May 2015, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2015 | Nights 2014 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 40,163 | 24,716 | +62.5% | 21.2% |
| 2 | Germany | 32,662 | 20,088 | +62.6% | 17.3% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 24,395 | 21,141 | +15.4% | 12.9% |
| 4 | Sweden | 14,210 | 11,347 | +25.2% | 7.5% |
| 5 | Norway | 10,109 | 11,297 | -10.5% | 5.3% |
| 6 | France | 8,863 | 7,302 | +21.4% | 4.7% |
| 7 | Other Asian countries | 7,096 | 2,355 | +201.3% | 3.8% |
| 8 | Denmark | 6,754 | 9,229 | -26.8% | 3.6% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 6,690 | 4,631 | +44.5% | 3.5% |
| 10 | Canada | 5,132 | 5,398 | -4.9% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for May 2015:
| Region | Occupancy 2015 | Occupancy 2014 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 75.0% | 74.8% | +0.2 pp |
| Reykjanes | 71.5% | 55.8% | +15.7 pp |
| Total | 60.9% | 58.9% | +2.0 pp |
| South | 44.3% | 38.4% | +5.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 43.4% | 33.9% | +9.5 pp |
| North | 41.2% | 40.4% | +0.8 pp |
| East | 35.5% | 31.7% | +3.8 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in May 2015 was 13,192.96 million ISK (13.19 billion ISK), compared to 9,062.86 million ISK in May 2014.
This represents a +45.6% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 31,392 overnight stays in hotels in May 2015, down 12.4% from 35,838 in 2014.
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