Summary
September 2016 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 327,424 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 231,576 in September 2015—a +41.4% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 77.7%, up 11.1 percentage points from 66.6% in 2015. Foreign card spending totaled 21.7 billion ISK (+59.0% YoY).
September 2016 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 2,630,826, up 32.2% on the same period of 2015. Within 2016, 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 112.5%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 31.2% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 56.6%. Hotel occupancy of 77.7% 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 2016, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2016 | Nights 2015 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 102,090 | 56,751 | +79.9% | 31.2% |
| 2 | Germany | 42,863 | 35,155 | +21.9% | 13.1% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 40,331 | 30,321 | +33.0% | 12.3% |
| 4 | Sweden | 14,341 | 11,382 | +26.0% | 4.4% |
| 5 | China | 13,427 | 7,950 | +68.9% | 4.1% |
| 6 | Japan | 12,733 | 9,968 | +27.7% | 3.9% |
| 7 | Canada | 12,120 | 7,029 | +72.4% | 3.7% |
| 8 | Norway | 10,225 | 10,920 | -6.4% | 3.1% |
| 9 | Denmark | 9,779 | 8,261 | +18.4% | 3.0% |
| 10 | France | 8,886 | 8,024 | +10.7% | 2.7% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2016:
| Region | Occupancy 2016 | Occupancy 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 92.6% | 69.7% | +22.9 pp |
| Capital Region | 85.4% | 74.4% | +11.0 pp |
| Total | 77.7% | 66.6% | +11.1 pp |
| North | 71.7% | 54.6% | +17.1 pp |
| South | 66.4% | 58.5% | +7.9 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 61.4% | 54.6% | +6.8 pp |
| East | 58.1% | 47.6% | +10.5 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2016 was 21,684.22 million ISK (21.68 billion ISK), compared to 13,639.08 million ISK in September 2015.
This represents a +59.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 39,637 overnight stays in hotels in September 2016, up 33.7% from 29,643 in 2015.
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