Press Release 22/07/2013
Overnight stays of visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country were down by 7.6% in June
Visitor numbers fell by 6.9%, despite the higher number of foreigners
Overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in June 2013 stood at 394,979, which was a drop of 7.6% on those registered in June 2012, according to data prepared by EUSTAT, that is, there were 32,635 fewer overnight stays. Overnight stays had a year-on-year negative evolution in the three provinces: in Álava there was a drop of 15% with regards to June the previous year, in Bizkaia they dropped by 11.4% and in Gipuzkoa they did so by 0.2%.
Moreover, there were 213,242 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in June 2013, 15,708 down on the same month of the previous year, which was a decrease of 6.9%, according to Eustat data. In last year the number of visitors fell by 16.4% in Álava, by 7.1% in Bizkaia and by 2.7% in Gipuzkoa.
The number of visitors corresponding to those originating abroad rose by 4.4% compared to June 2012. However, the number of visitors from within Spain was down by 13.3%. Álava saw a decrease in visitor numbers from abroad, down 10%, and within Spain, down 18.6%, compared to the same month of the previous year. In Bizkaia the number of foreign visitors increased by 2.6%, whilst the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 12.2%. For its part, the number of foreign visitors to Gipuzkoa increased by 10.1% and Spanish visitors were down by 12.2%.
The average length of stay stood at 1.85 days and scarcely changed with respect to that of the previous year, 1.87 days. In Álava it rose slightly, from 1.79 to 1.83 days; in Bizkaia it was down, from 1.85 days in June 2012 to 1.76 days this June and in Gipuzkoa it was up, going from 1.92 to 1.97 days.
There was a reduction in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, going from 51.2% in June 2012 to 46.2% in June this year. The largest drop was in Bizkaia, 6.6 points down, going from 50.8% to 44.2%; Álava saw a fall of 4.8 percentage points, going from 43.4% in June 2012 to 38.6% this June and in Gipuzkoa there was an occupancy rate of 51.9% compared to the 55.4% obtained the previous year, which indicates that it was three points and five-tenths down on 2012.
The highest hotel occupancy rate in June was in Donostia/San Sebastián (64%), followed by the coast of Guipuzkoa (50.8%), then Bilbao (48.9%) and Rioja Alavesa (42.9%).
Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in June 2013, with 56.6% of occupied places, with the registered occupancy standing at 41.6% on weekdays. Compared to June 2012, both occupancy rates were down, by 6.6 percentage points at weekends and by 3.5 on weekdays.
The number of personnel employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in June 2013 increased by 1.1% on June 2012, and stood at 4,275.
Overnight stays in rural accommodation decreased by 16.6% in June and the occupancy rate stood at 16.4%
Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 20,299 overnight stays in June, which was a drop of 16.6% on the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, Bizkaia recorded a drop of 29.5%, whereas Álava and Gipuzkoa experienced less severe falls, 11.5% and 10.0%, respectively.
The bed occupancy rate, 16.4%, also experienced a downturn of 3.3 percentage points in relation to June 2012. The fall experienced in Gipuzkoa was 2.0 percentage points, with the occupancy rate in June standing at 19.0%. Bizkaia also recorded a decrease of 5.8 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 14.8%. In Álava the occupancy rate stood at 13.0% with a decrease of two points and two tenths compared to June 2012.
There were 9,545 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in June, 15.7% down on the same month of the previous year. By province, they were down by 24.3%; in Álava they were down by 14.9% and visitor numbers to Gipuzkoa fell by 10.7%.
The 1,067 visitors originating from abroad signified a decrease of 20.2% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 11.2% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain dropped by 15.1%.
Lastly, the average length of stay per visitor was slightly down, going from 2.15 days a year ago to 2.13 days in June 2013.
Note: The Statistics on Tourist Establishments for June were gathered in accordance with a methodology that has meant large changes in all stages of the operation, and which allows better desegregations of results, both geographical and temporal. Furthermore, the framework of reference has been updated, incorporating units that were previously not collected. This has meant the recalculating of the entire reference series from January 2011, from when comparable data has been available. Eustat will soon proceed to link the homogenous series.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
Further press releases on ETR - Survey on Tourist Establishments of the Basque Country
Databank on ETR - Survey on Tourist Establishments of the Basque Country