In hotel establishments in the A.C. of Euskadi there were 93,109 entries by visitors in February 2002, 7% more than in the same month the previous year, which means an inter-annual increase of 6,000 more entries. Entries by visitors have exceeded the previous year’s data in the three provinces, but the intensity was not homogeneous. In Alava and Gipuzkoa there were increases of12% and 11% respectively, while in Bizkaia the increase was much lower, only 1%.
Entries by state visitors increased by 8% in the whole of the A.C. of Euskadi and the number of foreign visitors increased by 3%. Both groups increased in Alava and Gipuzkoa. In Bizkaia, however, the number of foreign visitors fell (-5%).
There was an increase in state visitors mainly from Catalonia and Madrid, and from the A.C. of Euskadi itself. There was a reduction, among others, in visitors from Valencia, Castilla and León and Castilla-La Mancha. Among foreign visitors, there was a strong increase in visitors from the United Kingdom and a fall in visitors from Italy.
Overnight stays registered in February 2002 came to 165,192, i.e. almost 10,000 more than the same month the previous year, which represents a rise of 6% in percentage terms. The number of overnight stays rose in Gipuzkoa (13%) and Bizkaia (5%), but fell in Alava by 3% due to a higher reduction in the average stay by state visitors.
The length of the average stay by visitors staying at hotels in the A.C. of Euskadi was slightly shorter in February 2002, falling from 1.78 days last year to 1.77 this year. The average stay fell considerably in Alava (from 1.90 days to 1.65) and this explains the fact that overnight stays have fallen in this province, although there was an important increase in visitors (12%). The opposite is the case of Bizkaia, where there was a slight increase in visitors (1%) and a higher increase in overnight stays (5%) due to the growth in the average stay. In Gipuzkoa the increases were similar for both variables.
The level of occupancy improved both by places (3%) and by
rooms (4%) in the whole of the A.C. of Euskadi. Hotel establishments in Gipuzkoa
improved their level of occupancy most in the inter-annual period, in Bizkaia
it was stable and the level of occupancy by places fell in Alava.
There were 4,212 entries by visitors to Agrotourism establishments in the A.C. of Euskadi in February 2002, 1% more than the previous year, Alava (18%) and Gipuzkoa (8%) being the provinces with increases, compared with the fall by 12% in Bizkaia.
Overnight stays rose to 9,156, 7% more than in February 2001. The increases in overnight stays occurred in Gipuzkoa (9%) and Bizkaia (9%), as a result in the latter province of the large increase in the length of the average stay by visitors (24%), the opposite of the case in Alava (-15%).