Press Release 22/11/2016

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS, OCTOBER 2016

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 6.7% in October 2016

The number of foreign visitors began to pick up with 13.4% growth, and the bed occupancy rate exceeded 72%

There were 272,642 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in October 2016, 17,155 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 6.7%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 8.9% in Gipuzkoa, 6.8% in Álava, and 5.0% in Bizkaia.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in October 2016 reached 531,742, which was an increase of 10.6% on those registered in October of the previous year, that is, there were 50,777 more overnight stays. There was a positive trend in overnight stays in the three provinces: in Gipuzkoa they increased by 13.6%, in Álava they grew by 12.8% and in Bizkaia they were up by 7.5%.

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 2.9% in the Basque Country compared to October of the previous year, whilst the number of visitors from abroad increased by 13.4%. Álava registered a 7.8% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 3.9% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 1.0%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 12.2%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 3.2%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 17.0%.

The average length of stay in October was 1.95 days compared with the average stay of 1.88 days registered in October 2015. The average length of stay increased in all three provinces. In Álava, the average length of stay this October was 1.86 days, when one year before it was 1.76 days. In Bizkaia, the average stay this October was 1.93 days, and in October 2015 it was 1.88 days. As regards Gipuzkoa, the average length of stay also increased, going from 1.93 days in October last year to 2.01 days this October.

There was an increase of 3.8 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 54.7% in October 2015 to 58.5% in October this year. Álava experienced a rise of 5.2 percentage points, increasing from 45.3% to 50.5%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 2.5 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 55.5% in October 2015 to a rate of 58.0% this October. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 4.8 percentage points, going from 57.6% in October 2015 to 62.4% in October 2016.

The occupancy rate per room also registered an upward trend, with a 4.5 percentage point increase for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 72.1%. In Álava it was up by 9.9 percentage points, standing at 66.0%; in Bizkaia it increased by 2.4 percentage points to reach 73.4%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 4.8 percentage points, standing at 72.9% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in October this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (72.6%), followed by Bilbao (67.0%) and Rioja Alavesa (65.8%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in October 2016, with 70.4% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 53.6% on weekdays.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 19.7% and overnight stays by 22.2%

There were 14,291 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in October, 19.7% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors increased by 31.7%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 19.7%, and in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 14.1%. There was a 77.2% increase in the number of visitors originating from abroad with regards to those received a year ago, representing 15.1% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 13.2%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 31,056 overnight stays in October, with an increase of 22.2% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 23.6% in Gipuzkoa, Álava saw a rise of 23.2% and in Bizkaia they rose by 19.4%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 24.5% with a rise of 3.6 percentage points from the figures obtained in October 2015. Álava recorded a rise of 2.9 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 23.4%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 24.6%, which meant an increase of 3.4 percentage points in relation to October 2015, and Gipuzkoa saw a fall of 4.1 percentage points, with an occupancy rate this October of 24.9%. Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased with respect to October 2015, going from 2.13 days a year ago to 2.17 this last month.

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