Hotel establishments in the A.C. of Euskadi registered 129,734 entries by visitors in March 2002, 26% more than the same month the previous year, which represents an inter-annual increase of almost 27,000 more entries. There were more entries by visitors than the year before in the three provinces, but the intensity varied. In Alava and Bizkaia there were increases of 15% and 19% respectively, while in Gipuzkoa the increase was higher, 40%.
Entries by state visitors increased 29% in the whole of the A.C. of Euskadi and the number of foreign visitors grew 18%. Both groups increased noticeably in Alava and Gipuzkoa. In Bizkaia, however, the increase in the number of foreign visitors was lower (4%).
Among state visitors there was an increase in numbers from Catalonia and Madrid, and the A.C. of Euskadi itself; the only reduction in presence was in visitors from Castile and León. Among foreign visitors, there was an increase in visitors from France, Germany and Portugal, with a reduction in visitors from Italy and the USA-Canada.
Overnight stays registered in March 2002 came to 243,861, i.e. 57,000 more than the same month the year before, which represents a 31% rise, in percentage terms. The number of overnight stays grew significantly in Alava (11%) and Bizkaia (23%), and very significantly in Gipuzkoa, 51%, due to a higher increase in visitors and their average stay in the province.
The length of the average stay for visitors staying at hotels in the A.C. of Euskadi was extended in March 2002, rising from 1.81 days last year to 1.88 this year. The average stay fell slightly in Alava (from 1.86 to 1.81 days) and this explains the fact that overnight stays increased less than entries by visitors to the province. The opposite occurs in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, where there was a sharp increase in entries by visitors, but overnight stays increased comparatively more.
The level of occupancy improved, both by places (23%) and by rooms (13%) in the whole of the A.C. of Euskadi. Hotel establishments in Gipuzkoa increased the level of occupancy more in the inter-annual period (40% by place and 22% by rooms), the increases in Alava were smaller (3% by places and 4% by rooms), the figures for Bizkaia occupying an intermediate position.
There were 7,676 entries by visitors registered in Agrotourism establishments in the A.C. of Euskadi in March 2002, 46% more than the previous year, Alava (70%) registering the highest variation. Gipuzkoa (43%) and Bizkaia (38%) also obtained sharp increases.
The number of overnight stays came to 17,792, an increase of 99% on March 2001. Increases in overnight stays occurred in the three provinces. The most outstanding growth was in Alava (153%), with important increases in both Gipuzkoa (92%) and Bizkaia (85%).