143,867 entries by visitors were registered at hotel establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country in March 2005, over 13,000 more than the same month the year before, which represents a 10% increase, according to Eustat data. Entries by visitors obtained a net positive evolution in the three provinces, increasing by 13% in Bizkaia, 10% in Gipuzkoa and 5% in Alava, with regard to the same month the year before. The fact that Easter 2005 fell in March directly affects the number of entries by visitors, overnight stays, the average stay and the level of occupancy by places and rooms.

Entries by state visitors rose by 11% and the number of foreign visitors increased by 10%. State visitors increased their presence mainly in Bizkaia (16%), registered an intermediate rise in Gipuzkoa (9%) and a more discrete variation in Alava (2%). The number of foreign visitors rose sharply in Alava (21%), registered intermediate growth in Gipuzkoa (10%) and, finally, developed more moderately in Bizkaia (7%).

Among state visitors, there was an increase in numbers from practically all the Autonomous Communities, except for slight reductions in numbers from Madrid and Aragón. Numbers rose from Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia, Asturias and Andalusia, to name the most significant rises. There was an increase in the number of foreign visitors from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the USA-Canada, among others, and there was a drop in visitors from the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Holland and Finland.

The number of overnight stays registered in March 2005 came to 270,128, which represents a 17% rise on March the previous year, i.e. 40,000 more overnight stays. Overnight stays also registered a positive inter-annual evolution in the three provinces, with 20% growth in Bizkaia, 17% in Alava and 14% in Gipuzkoa.

The length of the average stay has risen from 1.77 days the year before to 1.88 last March, for the whole of the A.C. of the Basque Country, and this improvement affected the three provinces in the Community. In Alava it rose from 1.65 to 1.84 days, in Bizkaia from 1.76 to 1.87 and in Gipuzkoa from 1.83 to 1.90.

The level of occupancy by places improved by 12%, rising from 39.08% in March last year to 43.90% in March this year. The increase is confirmed in Alava (17%), Gipuzkoa (15%) and in Bizkaia (8%). The level of occupancy by rooms improved by 8% on the level for March the previous year.

Agrotourism: Improvement in number of visitors (15%) and, above all, in overnight stays (50%)

8,337 entries by visitors were registered at agrotourism establishments in March in the A.C. of the Basque Country, 15% more than the same month the previous year, rising 23% in Bizkaia, 14% in Gipuzkoa and 3% in Alava. The number of state visitors increased by 16% in the A.C. of the Basque Country, whereas there was a 3% fall in the number of foreigners in the whole of the Community, as a result of the fall in numbers in the province of Gipuzkoa (-35%).

The number of overnight stays at agrotourism establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country came to 22,624 in March, which represents a significant 50% increase in relation to the same month a year before, with important inter-annual growth rates in the three provinces: in Gipuzkoa there was a 65% increase, 48% in Alava and 34% n Bizkaia.

The average stay per visitor improved in the whole of the A.C. of the Basque Country with regard to March 2004, rising from 2.09 days a year before to 2.71 in March this year, this positive evolution corresponding to all three provinces: Gipuzkoa (44%), Alava (43%) and Bizkaia (8%).

The level of occupancy by places increased by 42% and the level of occupancy by rooms improved on previous positions, also by 42%. This improvement in the level of occupancy, both by places and by rooms affected the three provinces in the A.C. of the Basque Country, rising between 20% and 60% in each and every case.

Table 1: Monthly results

Source: EUSTAT