Summary
November 2017 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 270,785 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 272,146 in November 2016—a -0.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 62.7%, down 5.2 percentage points from 67.9% in 2016. Foreign card spending totaled 14.5 billion ISK (-5.9% YoY).
November 2017 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 3,589,942, up 12.1% on the same period of 2016. Within 2017, 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 73.6%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 32.0% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 64.1%. Hotel occupancy of 62.7% 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 2017, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2017 | Nights 2016 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 86,564 | 97,332 | -11.1% | 32.0% |
| 2 | United States of America | 74,983 | 75,519 | -0.7% | 27.7% |
| 3 | Other Asian countries | 12,115 | 9,611 | +26.1% | 4.5% |
| 4 | Germany | 11,923 | 18,681 | -36.2% | 4.4% |
| 5 | China | 11,052 | 7,831 | +41.1% | 4.1% |
| 6 | Japan | 6,999 | 7,609 | -8.0% | 2.6% |
| 7 | France | 6,290 | 5,714 | +10.1% | 2.3% |
| 8 | Ireland | 5,408 | 3,771 | +43.4% | 2.0% |
| 9 | Canada | 5,208 | 5,951 | -12.5% | 1.9% |
| 10 | Spain | 4,968 | 4,566 | +8.8% | 1.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2017:
| Region | Occupancy 2017 | Occupancy 2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 80.5% | 90.8% | -10.3 pp |
| Total | 62.7% | 67.9% | -5.2 pp |
| Reykjanes | 59.7% | 73.6% | -13.9 pp |
| South | 54.5% | 48.1% | +6.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 32.3% | 35.4% | -3.1 pp |
| North | 26.5% | 26.8% | -0.3 pp |
| East | 12.8% | 14.4% | -1.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2017 was 14,463.29 million ISK (14.46 billion ISK), compared to 15,374 million ISK in November 2016.
This represents a -5.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 33,911 overnight stays in hotels in November 2017, up 7.0% from 31,685 in 2016.
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