Summary
September 2012 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 129,964 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 111,699 in September 2011—a +16.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 62.7%, up 5.5 percentage points from 57.2% in 2011. Foreign card spending totaled 6.8 billion ISK (+22.4% YoY).
September 2012 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 1,217,666, up 20.0% on the same period of 2011. Within 2012, 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 33.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 15.5% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 41.2%. Hotel occupancy of 62.7% 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 2012, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2012 | Nights 2011 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 20,117 | 20,833 | -3.4% | 15.5% |
| 2 | Norway | 16,765 | 12,440 | +34.8% | 12.9% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 16,624 | 14,347 | +15.9% | 12.8% |
| 4 | Germany | 13,649 | 10,337 | +32.0% | 10.5% |
| 5 | Sweden | 11,494 | 10,110 | +13.7% | 8.8% |
| 6 | Other European countries | 7,993 | 5,540 | +44.3% | 6.2% |
| 7 | Denmark | 7,652 | 7,712 | -0.8% | 5.9% |
| 8 | Japan | 7,335 | 2,378 | +208.5% | 5.6% |
| 9 | France | 4,171 | 3,617 | +15.3% | 3.2% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 4,007 | 4,531 | -11.6% | 3.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2012:
| Region | Occupancy 2012 | Occupancy 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 76.8% | 69.6% | +7.2 pp |
| Total | 62.7% | 57.2% | +5.5 pp |
| Reykjanes | 60.3% | 68.5% | -8.2 pp |
| South | 47.3% | 35.2% | +12.1 pp |
| North | 42.5% | 36.8% | +5.7 pp |
| East | 37.8% | 37.4% | +0.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 33.3% | 32.4% | +0.9 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2012 was 6,767.1 million ISK (6.77 billion ISK), compared to 5,528.68 million ISK in September 2011.
This represents a +22.4% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 28,696 overnight stays in hotels in September 2012, up 15.8% from 24,774 in 2011.
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