In the survey on hotel establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country 144,698 visitors were registered in October 2003, according to Eustat data. These figures represent a 7% increase in relation to last year, which is to say 11,000 more visits. The influx of visitors evolved positively in all three provinces: it rose in Gipuzkoa (8%), in Alava (7%) and in Bizkaia (4%).

The number of visitors from within the state grew by 10% in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole although numbers of foreign visitors fell by 1%. Visitors from the state grew in number throughout the three provinces: Alava (12%), Gipuzkoa (15%) and Bizkaia (4%). The presence of foreigners was less evenly shared: in Bizkaia it increased (5%), but fell in Gipuzkoa (-3%) and in Alava (-9%).

There was an increase in visitors from all Communities of the state, except those travelling from the Canaries and Cantabria and the most important groups of visitors in terms of numbers were those from Madrid and Catalonia. Among foreign visitors, there was a slight increase in those from France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Belgium, although there was a decrease, also slight, in the numbers travelling from Germany, Portugal, South America and the USA-Canada.

The number of overnight stays registered in October 2003 rose to 280,727, which meant a 6% increase in relation to October last year, or some 17,000 more. The inter-annual evolution of overnight stays was markedly different in the three provinces, with a sharp increase of 30% in Alava, an 11% rise in Guipuzcoa, but a 6% fall in Bizkaia.

The length of the average stay in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole remained virtually unaltered, staying at 1.94 days per visitor, but distribution by provinces was very uneven: there was an important improvement in Alava (22%), going from 1.67 days last year to 2.03 days this October, a slight upturn in Gipuzkoa (2%) and a fall in Bizkaia from 2.15 days previously to the current 1.94.

The degree of occupancy by places suffered a 3% fall due to the decrease in the province of Bizkaia (-18%), whereas in both Alava and Gipuzkoa there were important increases of 14% and 8% respectively.

Agrotourism: Rise in the number of visitors (12%) and overnight stays (8%)

There were 6,822 visitors to the agrotourism establishments of the A.C. of the Basque Country in October, 12% more than in the same month last year, growing 37% in Alava and 24% in Gipuzkoa, although in Bizkaia there was a fall of 9%. Numbers of visitors from within the state grew 17%, while foreign visitors fell in number by 28%, which affected, in varying degrees, all three provinces.

There were 13,997 overnight stays in agrotourism establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country in October, 8% more than in the same month last year, giving a positive inter-annual growth rate in the provinces of Alava (29%) and Gipuzkoa (15%), but a negative one in Bizkaia (-7%).

The average stay per visitor in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole fell by point four per cent with regard to October 2002, going from 2.14 days a year ago to 2.05 this year, a decrease that affected the provinces of Alava and Gipuzkoa.

The degree of occupancy by places dropped 6%, due to the fall in this case suffered by Bizkaia (-21%). However, the degree of occupancy by places improved 5% both in Alava and in Gipuzkoa.