Press Release 20/06/2014

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (ETR) MAY 2014

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country were up by 3.9 % in May

The number of overnight stays registered an increase of 6.3% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 229,813 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in May 2014, 8,685 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 3.9%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors was up 13.3% in Álava and 5.8% in Gipuzkoa, whereas in Bizkaia the figures were more or less the same as for the previous year (0.0%).

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in May 2014 reached 435,179, which was an increase of 6.3% on those registered in May of the previous year, that is, there were 25,892 more overnight stays. There was a year-on-year positive evolution for overnight stays in Álava, where they were up by 7.2%, in Bizkaia, where they were up 7.0%, and in Gipuzkoa, where they rose by 5.3%.

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 3.3% compared to May of the previous year, as did the number of foreign visitors, up 4.8%. Álava saw a decrease in foreign visitors of 1.6% and an increase in Spanish visitors of 19.8%. In Bizkaia the number of visitors from abroad was up by 8.3%, and the number of Spanish visitors fell by 5.1%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in foreign visitor numbers of 2.7%, and the number of Spanish visitors rose by 8.7%.

The average length of stay stood at 1.89 days and represented an increase with respect to that of May the previous year, which was 1.85 days. In Álava it went from 1.87 days in May 2013 to 1.77 this May; in Bizkaia it rose from 1.79 days in May 2013 to 1.91 days this May; for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa remained the same, with an average length of stay of 1.92 days in May 2014, the same figure as for May 2013.

There was an increase of 3.6 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 46.5% in May 2013 to 50.0% in May this year. In Álava there was a rise of 2.2 percentage points, where it went from 38.8% occupancy in May 2013 to 41.1% this May. Bizkaia saw a increase of 5.3 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 46.3% in May 2013 to a rate of 51.6% in May 2014. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 2.0 percentage points, going from 49.9% in May 2013 to 51.9% in May 2014. The occupancy rate per room was also positive, up by 4.6 percentage points for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 62.0%. In Álava it was up by 0.6 percentage points, standing at 49.9%, and in Bizkaia it increased by 8.1 percentage points, standing at 66.4%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 2.1 percentage points, standing at 61.6% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel occupancy rate per bed in May this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (62.4%), followed by Bilbao (59.0%) and the Metropolitan Area of Bilbao (not including the capital) (50.6%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in May 2014, with 62.1% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 44.2% on weekdays.

The number of personnel employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in May decreased by 3.3%, with regards to May 2013.

Visitor numbers increased by 9.6% in rural accommodation and overnight stays rose by 14.4% in May

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 23,361 overnight stays in May, with an increase of 14.4% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 10.5% in Álava, by 17.5% in Bizkaia and by 14.0% in Gipuzkoa.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 19.2% with a rise of 2.8 percentage points from the figures obtained in May 2013. Álava also recorded an increase of 2.1 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 14.6%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate stood at 18.5%, representing an increase of 2.9 percentage points in comparison with May 2013. For its part, Gipuzkoa experienced a rise of 3.0 percentage points, with an occupancy rate of 21.6% for May.

There were 10,310 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in May, 9.6% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was up by 9.7%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 22.9%, and in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 2.7%.

The 1,263 visitors originating from abroad signified a decrease of 50.5% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 12.3% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 32.0%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased this May compared to May 2013, standing at 2.27 days.

The occupancy rate per room during the Mayday public holiday was 72.8% in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country

The number of visitors during the Mayday public holiday increased to 29,541 in the hotel establishments in the Basque Country. These were visits that lasted from Thursday to Sunday (3 nights). In this same period, the total number of overnight stays in the Basque Country was 59,320, with an occupancy rate per room of 72.8%.

In rural accommodation there were 2,491 visitors and 5,680 overnight stays, with an occupancy rate per room of 50.7%.

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