The latest data from Statistics Iceland indicates that in the Westfjords, not only do tourists outnumber Icelanders at hotels; Germans outnumber them all.
As Bæjarins Bestu reports, in the first ten months of 2011, bookings at hotels rose by 5%. Among these guests, tourists outnumbered Icelanders almost two to one, at 29,939 to 15,947 respectively.
Broken down by nationality, the most common tourist in the Westfjords this year was German, numbering some 6,974. The second greatest nationality of tourists – British – number only about half that, at 3,701. They were followed shortly behind by Americans, at 3,324.
Taking a national look, hotel guests across Iceland in the first ten months of 2011 numbered a whopping 1,339,700, breaking last year’s record of 1,185,000. The increase between the years was greatest in the capital area, which saw an 18% rise in tourists, while it was lowest in Suðurnes, which actually saw a 2% decrease.
It should also be had in mind that these figures relate solely to those who booked rooms in hotels; they do not include tourists who stayed in guesthouses, hostels, campsites, or perhaps couchsurfed.
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