Summary
September 2013 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 131,811 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 129,964 in September 2012—a +1.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 61.3%, down 1.4 percentage points from 62.7% in 2012. Foreign card spending totaled 7.5 billion ISK (+10.8% YoY).
September 2013 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 1,381,625, up 13.5% on the same period of 2012. Within 2013, September ranked 5th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 25.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 20.3% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 45.1%. Hotel occupancy of 61.3% 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 2013, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2013 | Nights 2012 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 26,710 | 20,117 | +32.8% | 20.3% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 18,956 | 16,624 | +14.0% | 14.4% |
| 3 | Germany | 13,742 | 13,649 | +0.7% | 10.4% |
| 4 | Norway | 12,759 | 16,765 | -23.9% | 9.7% |
| 5 | Sweden | 7,946 | 11,494 | -30.9% | 6.0% |
| 6 | Denmark | 7,627 | 7,652 | -0.3% | 5.8% |
| 7 | Japan | 7,567 | 7,335 | +3.2% | 5.7% |
| 8 | France | 4,405 | 4,171 | +5.6% | 3.3% |
| 9 | Finland | 3,754 | 3,215 | +16.8% | 2.8% |
| 10 | Canada | 3,506 | 2,929 | +19.7% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2013:
| Region | Occupancy 2013 | Occupancy 2012 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 72.7% | 76.8% | -4.1 pp |
| Total | 61.3% | 62.7% | -1.4 pp |
| Reykjanes | 56.0% | 60.3% | -4.3 pp |
| South | 48.8% | 47.3% | +1.5 pp |
| North | 46.9% | 42.5% | +4.4 pp |
| East | 37.6% | 37.8% | -0.2 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 37.5% | 33.3% | +4.2 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2013 was 7,495.14 million ISK (7.50 billion ISK), compared to 6,767.1 million ISK in September 2012.
This represents a +10.8% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 35,286 overnight stays in hotels in September 2013, up 23.0% from 28,696 in 2012.
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