Summary
September 2018 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 396,112 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 349,765 in September 2017—a +13.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 77.9%, up 2.0 percentage points from 75.9% in 2017. Foreign card spending totaled 24.6 billion ISK (+0.3% YoY).
September 2018 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 3,111,937, up 4.0% on the same period of 2017. Within 2018, September ranked 3rd of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 64.2%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 40.3% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 56.9%. Hotel occupancy of 77.9% 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 2018, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2018 | Nights 2017 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 159,775 | 119,251 | +34.0% | 40.3% |
| 2 | China | 33,257 | 21,483 | +54.8% | 8.4% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 32,170 | 33,214 | -3.1% | 8.1% |
| 4 | Germany | 31,268 | 39,207 | -20.2% | 7.9% |
| 5 | Canada | 12,987 | 13,740 | -5.5% | 3.3% |
| 6 | Other Asian countries | 11,300 | 10,235 | +10.4% | 2.9% |
| 7 | Spain | 11,181 | 9,278 | +20.5% | 2.8% |
| 8 | France | 9,096 | 9,232 | -1.5% | 2.3% |
| 9 | Sweden | 8,530 | 10,547 | -19.1% | 2.2% |
| 10 | Denmark | 8,186 | 9,630 | -15.0% | 2.1% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2018:
| Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjanes | 90.0% | 89.5% | +0.5 pp |
| Capital Region | 81.9% | 81.7% | +0.2 pp |
| Total | 77.9% | 75.9% | +2.0 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 74.6% | 60.3% | +14.3 pp |
| South | 74.2% | 70.9% | +3.3 pp |
| North | 68.3% | 66.5% | +1.8 pp |
| East | 64.2% | 58.9% | +5.3 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2018 was 24,559.84 million ISK (24.56 billion ISK), compared to 24,496.81 million ISK in September 2017.
This represents a +0.3% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 35,303 overnight stays in hotels in September 2018, up 5.6% from 33,438 in 2017.
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