Summary
October 2005 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 66,233 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 63,198 in October 2004—a +4.8% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 49.1%, down 0.9 percentage points from 50.0% in 2004. Foreign card spending totaled 1.1 billion ISK (+12.5% YoY).
October 2005 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 751,421, up 5.0% on the same period of 2004. Within 2005, 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 34.1%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 21.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 49.6%. Hotel occupancy of 49.1% 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 2005, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2005 | Nights 2004 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 14,275 | 13,688 | +4.3% | 21.6% |
| 2 | Sweden | 10,196 | 7,280 | +40.1% | 15.4% |
| 3 | United States of America | 8,372 | 7,827 | +7.0% | 12.6% |
| 4 | Norway | 5,791 | 6,067 | -4.5% | 8.7% |
| 5 | Denmark | 5,393 | 5,533 | -2.5% | 8.1% |
| 6 | Other European countries | 3,756 | 1,610 | +133.3% | 5.7% |
| 7 | Finland | 3,454 | 1,591 | +117.1% | 5.2% |
| 8 | Japan | 2,773 | 921 | +201.1% | 4.2% |
| 9 | Germany | 2,668 | 8,684 | -69.3% | 4.0% |
| 10 | France | 1,628 | 2,102 | -22.5% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2005:
| Region | Occupancy 2005 | Occupancy 2004 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 61.4% | 64.9% | -3.5 pp |
| Total | 49.1% | 50.0% | -0.9 pp |
| South | 36.9% | 29.3% | +7.6 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 35.3% | 32.2% | +3.1 pp |
| East | 30.2% | 50.4% | -20.2 pp |
| North | 19.3% | 20.9% | -1.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2005 was 1,058.16 million ISK (1.06 billion ISK), compared to 941 million ISK in October 2004.
This represents a +12.5% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 20,392 overnight stays in hotels in October 2005, down 2.1% from 20,827 in 2004.
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