Summary
November 2006 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 49,135 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 37,351 in November 2005—a +31.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 41.3%, up 4.6 percentage points from 36.7% in 2005. Foreign card spending totaled 1.2 billion ISK (+43.5% YoY).
November 2006 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 880,760, up 11.7% on the same period of 2005. Within 2006, November ranked 8th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for November over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 45.3%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 26.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 52.3%. Hotel occupancy of 41.3% 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 2006, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2006 | Nights 2005 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 13,123 | 8,001 | +64.0% | 26.7% |
| 2 | United States of America | 7,234 | 5,775 | +25.3% | 14.7% |
| 3 | Denmark | 5,344 | 2,678 | +99.6% | 10.9% |
| 4 | Norway | 3,972 | 3,498 | +13.6% | 8.1% |
| 5 | Sweden | 3,927 | 5,185 | -24.3% | 8.0% |
| 6 | Germany | 2,530 | 1,985 | +27.5% | 5.1% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 2,518 | 1,403 | +79.5% | 5.1% |
| 8 | France | 1,725 | 1,862 | -7.4% | 3.5% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1,419 | 1,068 | +32.9% | 2.9% |
| 10 | China | 1,188 | 906 | +31.1% | 2.4% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2006:
| Region | Occupancy 2006 | Occupancy 2005 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 53.6% | 44.3% | +9.3 pp |
| East | 44.2% | 21.9% | +22.3 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 43.9% | 29.1% | +14.8 pp |
| Total | 41.3% | 36.7% | +4.6 pp |
| North | 15.5% | 18.0% | -2.5 pp |
| South | 15.5% | 25.4% | -9.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2006 was 1,248.36 million ISK (1.25 billion ISK), compared to 869.88 million ISK in November 2005.
This represents a +43.5% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 23,283 overnight stays in hotels in November 2006, up 16.0% from 20,078 in 2005.
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