Summary
September 2009 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 98,515 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 98,101 in September 2008—a +0.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 55.0%, down 2.6 percentage points from 57.6% in 2008. Foreign card spending totaled 4.7 billion ISK (+51.9% YoY).
September 2009 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 899,703, up 3.2% on the same period of 2008. Within 2009, 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 16.4%.
United Kingdom was the largest source market with 16.7% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 42.9%. Hotel occupancy of 55.0% 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 September 2009, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2009 | Nights 2008 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 16,450 | 18,962 | -13.2% | 16.7% |
| 2 | Germany | 13,089 | 15,409 | -15.1% | 13.3% |
| 3 | United States of America | 12,767 | 11,367 | +12.3% | 13.0% |
| 4 | Sweden | 10,639 | 8,819 | +20.6% | 10.8% |
| 5 | Norway | 9,642 | 7,287 | +32.3% | 9.8% |
| 6 | Denmark | 7,036 | 7,883 | -10.7% | 7.1% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 4,419 | 3,641 | +21.4% | 4.5% |
| 8 | Other European countries | 4,151 | 5,204 | -20.2% | 4.2% |
| 9 | France | 3,416 | 3,317 | +3.0% | 3.5% |
| 10 | Finland | 2,244 | 2,177 | +3.1% | 2.3% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2009:
| Region | Occupancy 2009 | Occupancy 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 64.3% | 67.0% | -2.7 pp |
| Total | 55.0% | 57.6% | -2.6 pp |
| Reykjanes | 47.5% | 73.6% | -26.1 pp |
| North | 43.9% | 45.2% | -1.3 pp |
| South | 40.6% | 40.6% | +0.0 pp |
| East | 39.9% | 46.3% | -6.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 34.1% | 31.9% | +2.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2009 was 4,666.33 million ISK (4.67 billion ISK), compared to 3,071.82 million ISK in September 2008.
This represents a +51.9% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 22,615 overnight stays in hotels in September 2009, down 7.0% from 24,326 in 2008.
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