Summary
October 2016 was part of Iceland's autumn/winter transition with increasing northern lights activity. Foreign guests recorded 298,619 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 212,548 in October 2015—a +40.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 70.9%, up 10.3 percentage points from 60.6% in 2015. Foreign card spending totaled 17.5 billion ISK (+67.1% YoY).
October 2016 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through October, reached 2,929,445, up 33.0% on the same period of 2015. Within 2016, October ranked 5th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for October over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 119.7%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 27.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 61.3%. Hotel occupancy of 70.9% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is a healthy shoulder-season level with capacity still available outside the capital. 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 2016, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2016 | Nights 2015 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 81,765 | 40,759 | +100.6% | 27.4% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 77,831 | 60,857 | +27.9% | 26.1% |
| 3 | Germany | 23,507 | 18,444 | +27.5% | 7.9% |
| 4 | China | 12,398 | 8,289 | +49.6% | 4.2% |
| 5 | Other Asian countries | 9,669 | 3,656 | +164.5% | 3.2% |
| 6 | Denmark | 8,999 | 8,961 | +0.4% | 3.0% |
| 7 | Sweden | 8,608 | 10,605 | -18.8% | 2.9% |
| 8 | Canada | 8,252 | 4,596 | +79.5% | 2.8% |
| 9 | Norway | 8,015 | 11,311 | -29.1% | 2.7% |
| 10 | Japan | 7,474 | 4,778 | +56.4% | 2.5% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for October 2016:
| Region | Occupancy 2016 | Occupancy 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 86.7% | 61.1% | +25.6 pp |
| Capital Region | 85.6% | 76.0% | +9.6 pp |
| Total | 70.9% | 60.6% | +10.3 pp |
| South | 62.2% | 48.5% | +13.7 pp |
| North | 46.8% | 32.4% | +14.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 36.4% | 34.1% | +2.3 pp |
| East | 25.2% | 14.9% | +10.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in October 2016 was 17,454.71 million ISK (17.45 billion ISK), compared to 10,448.13 million ISK in October 2015.
This represents a +67.1% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 41,346 overnight stays in hotels in October 2016, up 35.8% from 30,437 in 2015.
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