Summary
November 2016 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 272,146 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 181,169 in November 2015—a +50.2% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 67.9%, up 12.5 percentage points from 55.4% in 2015. Foreign card spending totaled 15.4 billion ISK (+68.0% YoY).
November 2016 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 3,201,591, up 34.3% on the same period of 2015. Within 2016, November ranked 6th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for November over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 141.3%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 35.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 70.4%. Hotel occupancy of 67.9% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 2016, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2016 | Nights 2015 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 97,332 | 66,161 | +47.1% | 35.8% |
| 2 | United States of America | 75,519 | 43,319 | +74.3% | 27.7% |
| 3 | Germany | 18,681 | 13,751 | +35.9% | 6.9% |
| 4 | Other Asian countries | 9,611 | 3,638 | +164.2% | 3.5% |
| 5 | China | 7,831 | 4,474 | +75.0% | 2.9% |
| 6 | Japan | 7,609 | 5,600 | +35.9% | 2.8% |
| 7 | Canada | 5,951 | 3,917 | +51.9% | 2.2% |
| 8 | Denmark | 5,733 | 4,938 | +16.1% | 2.1% |
| 9 | France | 5,714 | 4,452 | +28.3% | 2.1% |
| 10 | Sweden | 5,520 | 5,014 | +10.1% | 2.0% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2016:
| Region | Occupancy 2016 | Occupancy 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 90.8% | 75.8% | +15.0 pp |
| Reykjanes | 73.6% | 44.9% | +28.7 pp |
| Total | 67.9% | 55.4% | +12.5 pp |
| South | 48.1% | 30.2% | +17.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 35.4% | 23.5% | +11.9 pp |
| North | 26.8% | 24.0% | +2.8 pp |
| East | 14.4% | 10.9% | +3.5 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2016 was 15,374 million ISK (15.37 billion ISK), compared to 9,150.45 million ISK in November 2015.
This represents a +68.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 31,685 overnight stays in hotels in November 2016, up 25.2% from 25,308 in 2015.
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