133,817 visitors registered at the hotel establishments of the A.C. of the Basque Country in November 2004, according to Eustat data. These figures show a 6% increase in relation to the same month of last year, which is to say 8,000 more visits. The evolution of visits was positive in two of the three provinces of the A.C. of the Basque Country: they increased 12% in Bizkaia and 5% in Gipuzkoa, but fell 2% in Alava.

Among visitors from the state there was 9% growth for the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole and a 2% decrease in visits by foreign tourists. The numbers of visitors from the state was unevenly spread across the provinces: they grew 14% in Bizkaia, 10% in Gipuzkoa and dropped 1% in Alava. Numbers of foreign visitors were also unevenly distributed across the provinces, only showing growth in Bizkaia (4%), and falling both in Gipuzkoa (-8%) and Alava (-3%).

Among visitors from the state there was an increase in the numbers coming from most of the Autonomous Communities, especially for those coming from Madrid, Catalonia, Castile and León, Andalusia, Aragón and Asturias. The only decrease was among those coming from Castile La Mancha, Galicia, La Rioja and Murcia. As for overseas visitors, there was a rise in numbers from Latin America, Italy, Portugal and Germany, among others. There was a fall in numbers from France, United Kingdom and USA-Canada.

Overnight stays registered in November 2004 came to 241,147, meaning a 6% rise in relation to November last year, some 15,000 more. The inter-annual evolution of number of overnight stays was also unevenly distributed across the three provinces, with a 13% increase in Bizkaia, a 7% rise in Gipuzkoa, although diminishing significantly in Alava (-9%).

The average length of stay for visitors remained stable for the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole, at 1.80 days per visitor. However, there was an important reduction in the average length of stay in Alava (from 1.75 to 1.62 days), which improved in Bizkaia (where it went from 1.79 to 1.82 days) and in Gipuzkoa (going from 1.84 to 1.87 days).

The degree of occupancy, both by places and by rooms, improved as regards the figures of the year before, with rises of 5% and 4% respectively, in the A.C. of the Basque Country overall. Despite the improvements in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia however, these two indicators showed a fall in Alava.

Agrotourism: a fall in the numbers of visitors (-4%) but a slight increase in overnight stays (1%) in November

November saw 5,619 visitors to agrotourism establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country, 4% less than the same month last year, growing 16% in Bizkaia, but falling 13% in Gipuzkoa and 9% in Alava.

12,032 overnight stays were registered at agrotourism establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country in November, 1% more than the same month last year, with positive inter-annual growth rates in two of the three provinces, Alava (8%) and Bizkaia (4%), but not so in Gipuzkoa, where there was a 3% decrease.

The average length of stay per visitor went up in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole compared to November 2003, going from 2.04 days a year previously to 2.14 days this November, a rise that affected Alava and Gipuzkoa, but not Bizkaia where this index lost ground in relation to the figures of last year.

The degree of occupancy by places registered a 5% decrease in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole and the degree of occupancy by rooms also diminished by 4%. Both variables lost ground across the three provinces of the A.C. of the Basque Country, except in the case of the degree of occupancy by places in Bizkaia.

Table 1: Monthly results

Source: EUSTAT