Summary
October 2002 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 42,869 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 45,141 in October 2001—a -5.0% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 45.1%, down 5.4 percentage points from 50.5% in 2001. Foreign card spending totaled 1.3 billion ISK (0.0% YoY).
October 2002 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 591,242, up 4.4% on the same period of 2001. Within 2002, October ranked 7th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for October over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 18.0%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 27.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.2%. Hotel occupancy of 45.1% 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 October 2002, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2002 | Nights 2001 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 11,754 | 10,723 | +9.6% | 27.4% |
| 2 | United States of America | 7,564 | 7,658 | -1.2% | 17.6% |
| 3 | Sweden | 4,344 | 4,276 | +1.6% | 10.1% |
| 4 | Denmark | 3,867 | 3,597 | +7.5% | 9.0% |
| 5 | Norway | 3,851 | 4,886 | -21.2% | 9.0% |
| 6 | Germany | 2,564 | 2,930 | -12.5% | 6.0% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 1,545 | 1,954 | -20.9% | 3.6% |
| 8 | Finland | 1,444 | 1,367 | +5.6% | 3.4% |
| 9 | France | 1,328 | 1,249 | +6.3% | 3.1% |
| 10 | Ireland | 1,084 | 1,425 | -23.9% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2002:
| Region | Occupancy 2002 | Occupancy 2001 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 61.7% | 68.1% | -6.4 pp |
| Total | 45.1% | 50.5% | -5.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 33.8% | 35.0% | -1.2 pp |
| East | 30.4% | 26.4% | +4.0 pp |
| South | 23.5% | 25.4% | -1.9 pp |
| North | 18.9% | 22.8% | -3.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2002 was 1,276 million ISK (1.28 billion ISK), compared to 0 million ISK in October 2001.
This represents a 0.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 15,339 overnight stays in hotels in October 2002, up 8.7% from 14,106 in 2001.
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