Summary
November 2007 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 48,749 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 49,135 in November 2006—a -0.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 37.2%, down 4.1 percentage points from 41.3% in 2006. Foreign card spending totaled 1.3 billion ISK (+6.6% YoY).
November 2007 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 980,348, up 11.3% on the same period of 2006. Within 2007, 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 31.1%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 26.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 49.8%. Hotel occupancy of 37.2% 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 2007, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2007 | Nights 2006 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 13,084 | 13,123 | -0.3% | 26.8% |
| 2 | United States of America | 6,667 | 7,234 | -7.8% | 13.7% |
| 3 | Norway | 4,540 | 3,972 | +14.3% | 9.3% |
| 4 | Denmark | 4,345 | 5,344 | -18.7% | 8.9% |
| 5 | Sweden | 4,327 | 3,927 | +10.2% | 8.9% |
| 6 | Germany | 2,447 | 2,530 | -3.3% | 5.0% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 2,315 | 2,518 | -8.1% | 4.7% |
| 8 | France | 2,167 | 1,725 | +25.6% | 4.4% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1,359 | 1,419 | -4.2% | 2.8% |
| 10 | Ireland | 1,336 | 769 | +73.7% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2007:
| Region | Occupancy 2007 | Occupancy 2006 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 48.6% | 53.6% | -5.0 pp |
| Reykjanes | 39.6% | 0.0% | +39.6 pp |
| Total | 37.2% | 41.3% | -4.1 pp |
| East | 21.2% | 44.2% | -23.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 20.8% | 43.9% | -23.1 pp |
| North | 16.5% | 15.5% | +1.0 pp |
| South | 15.4% | 15.5% | -0.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2007 was 1,330.31 million ISK (1.33 billion ISK), compared to 1,248.36 million ISK in November 2006.
This represents a +6.6% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 27,157 overnight stays in hotels in November 2007, up 16.6% from 23,283 in 2006.
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