Possibilities for a hotel in the centre of Hafnarfjörður explored
At a town council meeting this morning, the development of a hotel in the centre of Hafnarfjörður was discussed. Mayor Haraldur L. Haraldsson says there is a basis for a new hotel in Hafnarfjörður.
At a town council meeting this morning, the development of a hotel in the centre of Hafnarfjörður was discussed. Mayor Haraldur L. Haraldsson says there is a basis for a new hotel in Hafnarfjörður.
„In Hafnarfjörður, there are currently two three-star hotels, Hotel Víking and Hotel Hafnarfjörður, with around 350 beds, and according to information from their owners, the hotels“ occupancy was very good last year. Based on this and the strong growth in tourism in Iceland, particularly outside the summer season, there appears to be a clear basis for a third hotel in Hafnarfjörður. Surveys show that 15% of the foreign tourists who visited Iceland in the summer of 2014 had some stay in Hafnarfjörður. Of these, just over 31% stayed overnight, for an average of 3.1 nights, while around 121% came on a day trip. That means that only 20% of those who stayed in the town actually stayed overnight, and there is clearly an opportunity there," says Haraldur.
Tourists have increased in Hafnarfjörður.
At a meeting of the town council, a memorandum was presented which states that according to Statistics Iceland, the number of overnight stays at year-round hotels in Iceland increased from 1,035 thousand in 2005 to 2,320 thousand in 2014, or by 124%. Of these, the share of year-round hotels in the capital region was 67-70%. In 2014, their total number of overnight stays is on track to be around 1,560,000, or 67% of the total. Of the overnight stays at year-round hotels in the capital region in 2014, it is estimated that the share of the two hotels in Hafnarfjörður was close to 4%.
A hotel would return close to 2 billion a year.
Assuming certain conditions, it can be expected that the new hotel will have 65,000 overnight stays per year and that customer spending will be close to 2 billion per year. Of this, around 1.2 billion will be spent at the accommodation, while about 300 million will be spent elsewhere in Hafnarfjörður and 500 million further afield in the capital region and its surroundings, e.g. on organised tours, restaurants, fuel, shopping, museums/exhibitions and other entertainment.