Summary
November 2012 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 86,881 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 56,297 in November 2011—a +54.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 44.4%, up 11.7 percentage points from 32.7% in 2011. Foreign card spending totaled 4.2 billion ISK (+53.8% YoY).
November 2012 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 1,410,586, up 21.5% on the same period of 2011. Within 2012, 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 68.5%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 31.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 61.9%. Hotel occupancy of 44.4% 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 2012, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2012 | Nights 2011 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 27,560 | 16,411 | +67.9% | 31.7% |
| 2 | United States of America | 19,785 | 12,299 | +60.9% | 22.8% |
| 3 | Norway | 6,470 | 4,236 | +52.7% | 7.4% |
| 4 | Germany | 4,686 | 2,818 | +66.3% | 5.4% |
| 5 | Denmark | 3,955 | 2,894 | +36.7% | 4.6% |
| 6 | Sweden | 3,836 | 3,836 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 2,977 | 3,389 | -12.2% | 3.4% |
| 8 | France | 2,809 | 2,356 | +19.2% | 3.2% |
| 9 | Finland | 2,725 | 861 | +216.5% | 3.1% |
| 10 | Japan | 2,542 | 955 | +166.2% | 2.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2012:
| Region | Occupancy 2012 | Occupancy 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 61.2% | 42.3% | +18.9 pp |
| Total | 44.4% | 32.7% | +11.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 43.1% | 41.8% | +1.3 pp |
| North | 26.3% | 13.7% | +12.6 pp |
| South | 18.9% | 17.7% | +1.2 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 13.8% | 12.5% | +1.3 pp |
| East | 9.4% | 17.4% | -8.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2012 was 4,215.14 million ISK (4.22 billion ISK), compared to 2,740.03 million ISK in November 2011.
This represents a +53.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 28,557 overnight stays in hotels in November 2012, up 33.9% from 21,324 in 2011.
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