Press release 19/10/2017

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. SEPTEMBER 2017

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 1.6% in September 2017

In the months of July, August and September, the number of visitors was up 0.4%, with uneven performance between foreign visitor numbers, which were up, and Spanish visitor numbers, which were down

There were 289,395 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in September 2017, 4,441 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 1.6% according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 8.6% in Álava, 0.7% in Bizkaia and 0.1% in Gipuzkoa.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in September 2017 reached 564,437, which was an increase of 0.2% on those registered in September of the previous year, that is, there were 856 more overnight stays. There was a year-on-year upward trend in overnight stays in Gipuzkoa, which registered an increase of 0.8%. However, in Álava and Bizkaia figures were down 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

The number of visitors from within Spain fell by 4.8% in the Basque Country compared to September of the previous year, whilst the number of visitors from abroad increased by 9.4%. Álava registered an 6.6% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 12.7% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia, the number of Spanish visitors was down by 9.2%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 13.9%. Gipuzkoa registered a 3.8% decrease in visitors from Spain, and a 3.8% increase in foreign visitors.

The average length of stay in September was 1.95 days, less than the 1.98 days registered in September 2016. In Álava, the average length of stay fell from 1.90 days the previous year to 1.75 in September this year. In Bizkaia, the average length of stay this September was 1.91 days, less than the 1.93 days in September 2016. In Gipuzkoa, the average length of stay rose from 2.06 days in September 2016 to 2.08 days this September.

There was a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 64.6% in September 2016 to 64.5% in September this year. Álava experienced a rise of 2.7 percentage points, increasing from 54.9% to 57.6%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 0.5 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 64.1% in September 2016 to a rate of 64.6% this September. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 2.3 percentage points, going from 69.4% in September 2016 to 67.1% in September 2017.

The occupancy rate per room was also negative, down by 1.7 percentage points, for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 77.3%. In Álava it was down by 3.2 percentage points, standing at 68.6%; in Bizkaia it decreased by 1.0 percentage points to reach 79.3%; finally, in Gipuzkoa it fell by 2.1 percentage points, standing at 78.2% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in September this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (75.9%), followed by Bilbao (71.9%) and Gipuzkoa Costa (68.7%). Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in September 2017, with 70.1% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 61.7% on weekdays.

Finally, with regards to the profitability indicators of the sector, the average daily rate (ADR) of hotels in the Basque Country stood at 95.41 euros in September 2017, 6.40% up on the year before. The average rate stood at 76.33 euros in Álava, where it increased by 7.95%; 78.76 euros in Bizkaia, with an increase of 6.13%, and 122.41 euros in Gipuzkoa, where it went up by 5.46%.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Basque Country overall, which is dependent on the occupancy rate of hotel establishments, stood at 73.73 euros in September 2017, a 4.12% increase on September 2016. The RevPAR stood at 52.36 euros in Álava, 62.42 euros in Bizkaia, and 95.67 euros in Gipuzkoa.

The bed occupancy rate during the San Sebastián Zinemaldia Film Festival stood at 90.0% in the hotel establishments of the Gipuzkoa capital

Visitor numbers during the 2017 San Sebastián Zinemaldia Film Festival increased to 18,736 in the hotel establishments of Donostia/San Sebastián between 21 and 30 September 2017 (10 nights). In this same period, the total number of overnight stays was 41,810, with an occupancy rate per bed of 72.7% and per room of 90.0%.

The occupancy rate per room during the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival stood at 74.4% in the hotel establishments of Vitoria-Gasteiz

Visitor numbers during the 2017 Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival increased to 5,772 in the hotel establishments of Vitoria-Gasteiz between 5 and 10 September 2017 (6 nights). In this same period there were 10,834 overnight stays. The occupancy rate per room was 74.4% in 2017, and the bed occupancy rate was 60.8%.

Summer assessment: visitor numbers were up by 0.4% and overnight stays were down by 0.9%

In the summer months of July, August and September, visitor numbers to the Basque Country rose by 0.4%, in other words there were 4,054 more visitors than in the same period during 2016. Álava experienced the biggest rise in visitor numbers at 2.0%, closely followed by Gipuzkoa at 0.3%, whilst Bizkaia experienced a negligible increase (0.0%). The performance has varied according to the visitors' origin. Foreign visitors were up 6.4% in summer 2017, whereas visitors from Spain were down 4.6% for the Basque Country as a whole. In Álava the number of foreign visitors went up by 2.9% and those from Spain by 1.4%; in Bizkaia, foreign visitors rose by 9.0% and Spanish visitors fell by 7.0%; finally, in Gipuzkoa foreign visitors increased by 4.7% and Spanish visitors decreased by 4.1%.

Overnight stays underwent a 0.9% downward trend for the Basque Country as a whole. There were decreases in the three provinces: 1.4% in Bizkaia, 1.3% in Álava, and 0.3% in Gipuzkoa.

The average stay in 2017 during the summer months dropped to 2.05 days, from 2.07 days for the summer months of 2016, for the Basque Country as a whole.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 0.7% and overnight stays rose by 1.0% in September 2017 compared with the same month of the previous year

There were 17,015 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in September, 0.7% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors increased by 3.9%, in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 1.2%, but in Bizkaia there was a decrease of 1.8%. There was a 14.2% increase in the number of visitors originating from abroad with regards to those received a year ago, representing 27.0% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 3.5%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 41,533 overnight stays in September, an increase of 1.0% with respect to the same month of the previous year. By province, Gipuzkoa saw an increase of 6.4%, but in Bizkaia and Álava there was a decrease of 2.7% and 10.2% respectively.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 31.8% with a fall of 0.6 percentage points from the figures obtained in August 2016. Álava recorded a drop of 2.6 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 20.7%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 30.0%, 2.2 percentage points less than in September 2016, and Gipuzkoa saw a rise of 1.2 percentage points, with an occupancy rate this September of 37.9%. Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased slightly with respect to September 2016, going from 2.43 days a year ago to 2.44 this September.

In the months of July, August and September 2017 visitors to Basque rural accommodation decreased by 1.3%, with regards to the same months of the previous year, in the Basque Country as a whole. In Álava there was a drop of 3.8%, in Bizkaia they fell by 3.3%, and in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 0.6%. Overnight stays also exhibited a downward trend, with a 5.1% decrease for the Basque Country as a whole. More specifically, there was a decrease of 12.0% in Álava, 6.4% in Bizkaia and 2.7% in Gipuzkoa. The bed occupancy rate dropped by 4.5 percentage points, and the average stay stood at 3.07 days for the Basque Country as a whole.

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