Summary
November 2018 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 268,354 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 270,785 in November 2017—a -0.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 57.4%, down 5.3 percentage points from 62.7% in 2017. Foreign card spending totaled 15.6 billion ISK (+8.1% YoY).
November 2018 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through November, reached 3,741,766, up 4.2% on the same period of 2017. Within 2018, November ranked 10th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for November over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 39.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 30.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 64.0%. Hotel occupancy of 57.4% 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 2018, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2018 | Nights 2017 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 82,682 | 74,983 | +10.3% | 30.8% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 75,177 | 86,564 | -13.2% | 28.0% |
| 3 | China | 13,942 | 11,052 | +26.1% | 5.2% |
| 4 | Other Asian countries | 12,764 | 12,115 | +5.4% | 4.8% |
| 5 | Germany | 12,196 | 11,923 | +2.3% | 4.5% |
| 6 | France | 6,878 | 6,290 | +9.3% | 2.6% |
| 7 | Canada | 5,751 | 5,208 | +10.4% | 2.1% |
| 8 | Spain | 5,469 | 4,968 | +10.1% | 2.0% |
| 9 | Denmark | 4,967 | 4,377 | +13.5% | 1.9% |
| 10 | Japan | 4,792 | 6,999 | -31.5% | 1.8% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for November 2018:
| Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 76.9% | 80.5% | -3.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 58.1% | 59.7% | -1.6 pp |
| Total | 57.4% | 62.7% | -5.3 pp |
| South | 47.5% | 54.5% | -7.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 25.9% | 32.3% | -6.4 pp |
| North | 24.2% | 26.5% | -2.3 pp |
| East | 12.4% | 12.8% | -0.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in November 2018 was 15,641.42 million ISK (15.64 billion ISK), compared to 14,463.29 million ISK in November 2017.
This represents a +8.1% year-over-year change. Spending increased even as overnight stays declined, suggesting higher per-visitor expenditure.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 38,414 overnight stays in hotels in November 2018, up 13.3% from 33,911 in 2017.
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