Summary
September 2006 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 93,328 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 75,965 in September 2005—a +22.9% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 63.1%, up 7.6 percentage points from 55.5% in 2005. Foreign card spending totaled 2.2 billion ISK (+14.4% YoY).
September 2006 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 758,272, up 10.7% on the same period of 2005. Within 2006, September ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 47.1%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 16.1% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 42.1%. Hotel occupancy of 63.1% 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 September 2006, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2006 | Nights 2005 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 15,017 | 10,425 | +44.0% | 16.1% |
| 2 | United States of America | 14,265 | 14,668 | -2.7% | 15.3% |
| 3 | Denmark | 10,040 | 6,457 | +55.5% | 10.8% |
| 4 | Norway | 9,613 | 7,609 | +26.3% | 10.3% |
| 5 | Germany | 8,825 | 9,597 | -8.0% | 9.5% |
| 6 | Sweden | 7,959 | 6,783 | +17.3% | 8.5% |
| 7 | Japan | 4,088 | 2,833 | +44.3% | 4.4% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 3,970 | 3,715 | +6.9% | 4.3% |
| 9 | China | 3,809 | 2,049 | +85.9% | 4.1% |
| 10 | Finland | 3,073 | 2,229 | +37.9% | 3.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2006:
| Region | Occupancy 2006 | Occupancy 2005 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 76.5% | 68.3% | +8.2 pp |
| Total | 63.1% | 55.5% | +7.6 pp |
| East | 55.4% | 47.3% | +8.1 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 54.1% | 42.6% | +11.5 pp |
| North | 44.0% | 31.7% | +12.3 pp |
| South | 39.5% | 37.9% | +1.6 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2006 was 2,159.51 million ISK (2.16 billion ISK), compared to 1,887.66 million ISK in September 2005.
This represents a +14.4% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 22,778 overnight stays in hotels in September 2006, up 26.9% from 17,948 in 2005.
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