Summary
October 2004 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 63,198 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 56,871 in October 2003—a +11.1% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 50.0%, up 1.9 percentage points from 48.1% in 2003. Foreign card spending totaled 0.9 billion ISK (+5.1% YoY).
October 2004 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 715,534, up 9.0% on the same period of 2003. Within 2004, October ranked 6th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for October over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 43.4%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 21.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 47.8%. Hotel occupancy of 50.0% 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 2004, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2004 | Nights 2003 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 13,688 | 9,871 | +38.7% | 21.7% |
| 2 | Germany | 8,684 | 3,591 | +141.8% | 13.7% |
| 3 | United States of America | 7,827 | 8,380 | -6.6% | 12.4% |
| 4 | Sweden | 7,280 | 9,204 | -20.9% | 11.5% |
| 5 | Norway | 6,067 | 6,620 | -8.4% | 9.6% |
| 6 | Denmark | 5,533 | 4,464 | +23.9% | 8.8% |
| 7 | France | 2,102 | 1,243 | +69.1% | 3.3% |
| 8 | Italy | 2,003 | 373 | +437.0% | 3.2% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1,610 | 1,421 | +13.3% | 2.5% |
| 10 | Other European countries | 1,610 | 1,970 | -18.3% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2004:
| Region | Occupancy 2004 | Occupancy 2003 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 64.9% | 60.2% | +4.7 pp |
| East | 50.4% | 44.2% | +6.2 pp |
| Total | 50.0% | 48.1% | +1.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 32.2% | 36.4% | -4.2 pp |
| South | 29.3% | 27.1% | +2.2 pp |
| North | 20.9% | 32.0% | -11.1 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2004 was 941 million ISK (0.94 billion ISK), compared to 895.65 million ISK in October 2003.
This represents a +5.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 20,827 overnight stays in hotels in October 2004, down 3.5% from 21,581 in 2003.
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