Summary
November 2003 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 33,926 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 30,627 in November 2002—a +10.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 33.1%, down 5.4 percentage points from 38.5% in 2002. Foreign card spending totaled 0.8 billion ISK (+26.8% YoY).
November 2003 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 690,360, up 11.0% on the same period of 2002. Within 2003, November ranked 9th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for November over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 13.8%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 22.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 51.6%. Hotel occupancy of 33.1% 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 November 2003, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2003 | Nights 2002 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 7,779 | 6,989 | +11.3% | 22.9% |
| 2 | Norway | 4,921 | 3,614 | +36.2% | 14.5% |
| 3 | United States of America | 4,808 | 5,728 | -16.1% | 14.2% |
| 4 | Sweden | 4,391 | 3,215 | +36.6% | 12.9% |
| 5 | Denmark | 3,785 | 2,909 | +30.1% | 11.2% |
| 6 | Germany | 1,591 | 1,547 | +2.8% | 4.7% |
| 7 | Ireland | 1,176 | 61 | +1827.9% | 3.5% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 1,074 | 1,375 | -21.9% | 3.2% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 886 | 1,243 | -28.7% | 2.6% |
| 10 | France | 872 | 1,236 | -29.4% | 2.6% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2003:
| Region | Occupancy 2003 | Occupancy 2002 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 43.8% | 54.8% | -11.0 pp |
| East | 43.1% | 21.7% | +21.4 pp |
| Total | 33.1% | 38.5% | -5.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 25.7% | 25.1% | +0.6 pp |
| North | 15.3% | 16.4% | -1.1 pp |
| South | 12.5% | 19.4% | -6.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2003 was 815.41 million ISK (0.82 billion ISK), compared to 643 million ISK in November 2002.
This represents a +26.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 16,807 overnight stays in hotels in November 2003, up 11.2% from 15,110 in 2002.
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