Summary
October 2011 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 89,857 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 77,006 in October 2010—a +16.7% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 46.0%, up 1.4 percentage points from 44.6% in 2010. Foreign card spending totaled 3.6 billion ISK (+19.3% YoY).
October 2011 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 1,104,816, up 14.4% on the same period of 2010. Within 2011, 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 14.9%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 24.9% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 52.4%. Hotel occupancy of 46.0% 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 2011, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2011 | Nights 2010 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 22,416 | 18,525 | +21.0% | 24.9% |
| 2 | United States of America | 16,770 | 9,635 | +74.1% | 18.7% |
| 3 | Norway | 7,907 | 8,176 | -3.3% | 8.8% |
| 4 | Germany | 5,431 | 5,307 | +2.3% | 6.0% |
| 5 | Sweden | 5,407 | 6,046 | -10.6% | 6.0% |
| 6 | Other European countries | 5,328 | 4,866 | +9.5% | 5.9% |
| 7 | Denmark | 4,754 | 5,170 | -8.0% | 5.3% |
| 8 | France | 3,926 | 2,689 | +46.0% | 4.4% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3,591 | 4,519 | -20.5% | 4.0% |
| 10 | Canada | 3,560 | 1,983 | +79.5% | 4.0% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2011:
| Region | Occupancy 2011 | Occupancy 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 59.6% | 54.7% | +4.9 pp |
| Total | 46.0% | 44.6% | +1.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 45.5% | 57.7% | -12.2 pp |
| South | 28.3% | 31.5% | -3.2 pp |
| North | 21.2% | 20.4% | +0.8 pp |
| East | 17.9% | 19.3% | -1.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 17.3% | 21.2% | -3.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2011 was 3,573.77 million ISK (3.57 billion ISK), compared to 2,995.37 million ISK in October 2010.
This represents a +19.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 27,276 overnight stays in hotels in October 2011, down 2.9% from 28,095 in 2010.
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