Summary
October 2014 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 149,479 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 121,667 in October 2013—a +22.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 57.9%, up 2.3 percentage points from 55.6% in 2013. Foreign card spending totaled 7.2 billion ISK (+26.0% YoY).
October 2014 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 1,724,469, up 14.7% on the same period of 2013. Within 2014, 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 56.7%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 31.6% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 55.5%. Hotel occupancy of 57.9% 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 2014, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2014 | Nights 2013 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 47,238 | 33,738 | +40.0% | 31.6% |
| 2 | United States of America | 25,810 | 21,508 | +20.0% | 17.3% |
| 3 | Germany | 9,958 | 8,661 | +15.0% | 6.7% |
| 4 | Norway | 8,246 | 8,320 | -0.9% | 5.5% |
| 5 | Sweden | 7,581 | 5,861 | +29.3% | 5.1% |
| 6 | Denmark | 6,811 | 7,751 | -12.1% | 4.6% |
| 7 | France | 5,737 | 4,267 | +34.5% | 3.8% |
| 8 | Canada | 5,106 | 3,724 | +37.1% | 3.4% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3,595 | 2,908 | +23.6% | 2.4% |
| 10 | Spain | 2,841 | 1,250 | +127.3% | 1.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2014:
| Region | Occupancy 2014 | Occupancy 2013 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 77.2% | 71.1% | +6.1 pp |
| Total | 57.9% | 55.6% | +2.3 pp |
| Reykjanes | 48.4% | 48.6% | -0.2 pp |
| North | 37.7% | 41.6% | -3.9 pp |
| South | 36.2% | 35.3% | +0.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 26.8% | 26.3% | +0.5 pp |
| East | 16.1% | 15.1% | +1.0 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2014 was 7,181.25 million ISK (7.18 billion ISK), compared to 5,699.17 million ISK in October 2013.
This represents a +26.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 33,255 overnight stays in hotels in October 2014, down 8.1% from 36,180 in 2013.
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