Summary
September 2010 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 88,191 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 98,515 in September 2009—a -10.5% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 51.1%, down 3.9 percentage points from 55.0% in 2009. Foreign card spending totaled 4.4 billion ISK (-6.5% YoY).
September 2010 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 889,150, down 1.2% on the same period of 2009. Within 2010, September ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in behind by 3.5%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 15.4% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 42.7%. Hotel occupancy of 51.1% 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 2010, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2010 | Nights 2009 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 13,603 | 12,767 | +6.5% | 15.4% |
| 2 | Germany | 12,762 | 13,089 | -2.5% | 14.5% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 11,332 | 16,450 | -31.1% | 12.8% |
| 4 | Norway | 8,964 | 9,642 | -7.0% | 10.2% |
| 5 | Denmark | 7,685 | 7,036 | +9.2% | 8.7% |
| 6 | Sweden | 7,219 | 10,639 | -32.1% | 8.2% |
| 7 | Other European countries | 4,493 | 4,151 | +8.2% | 5.1% |
| 8 | France | 3,925 | 3,416 | +14.9% | 4.5% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3,662 | 4,419 | -17.1% | 4.2% |
| 10 | Canada | 2,387 | 1,889 | +26.4% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2010:
| Region | Occupancy 2010 | Occupancy 2009 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 59.6% | 64.3% | -4.7 pp |
| Reykjanes | 57.3% | 47.5% | +9.8 pp |
| Total | 51.1% | 55.0% | -3.9 pp |
| North | 41.8% | 43.9% | -2.1 pp |
| South | 33.7% | 40.6% | -6.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 33.2% | 34.1% | -0.9 pp |
| East | 31.7% | 39.9% | -8.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2010 was 4,361.75 million ISK (4.36 billion ISK), compared to 4,666.33 million ISK in September 2009.
This represents a -6.5% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 25,693 overnight stays in hotels in September 2010, up 13.6% from 22,615 in 2009.
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