Summary
November 2005 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 37,351 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 34,862 in November 2004—a +7.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 36.7%, up 2.6 percentage points from 34.1% in 2004. Foreign card spending totaled 0.9 billion ISK (+4.1% YoY).
November 2005 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 788,772, up 5.1% on the same period of 2004. Within 2005, 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 13.4%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 21.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 50.8%. Hotel occupancy of 36.7% 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 2005, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2005 | Nights 2004 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 8,001 | 8,049 | -0.6% | 21.4% |
| 2 | United States of America | 5,775 | 4,763 | +21.2% | 15.5% |
| 3 | Sweden | 5,185 | 3,967 | +30.7% | 13.9% |
| 4 | Norway | 3,498 | 3,527 | -0.8% | 9.4% |
| 5 | Denmark | 2,678 | 3,619 | -26.0% | 7.2% |
| 6 | Germany | 1,985 | 2,835 | -30.0% | 5.3% |
| 7 | France | 1,862 | 1,233 | +51.0% | 5.0% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 1,403 | 1,264 | +11.0% | 3.8% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1,068 | 1,002 | +6.6% | 2.9% |
| 10 | China | 906 | 0 | 0.0% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2005:
| Region | Occupancy 2005 | Occupancy 2004 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 44.3% | 45.2% | -0.9 pp |
| Total | 36.7% | 34.1% | +2.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 29.1% | 30.7% | -1.6 pp |
| South | 25.4% | 13.5% | +11.9 pp |
| East | 21.9% | 26.3% | -4.4 pp |
| North | 18.0% | 14.6% | +3.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2005 was 869.88 million ISK (0.87 billion ISK), compared to 836 million ISK in November 2004.
This represents a +4.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 20,078 overnight stays in hotels in November 2005, up 10.4% from 18,180 in 2004.
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