The hotel establishments of the A.C. of the Basque Country registered 164,676 visitors in May 2005, almost 5,000 more than during the same month of last year, which meant a 3% increase, according to Eustat data. The evolution of the number of visitors was positive in the provinces of Gipuzkoa (7%) and Bizkaia (4%), but not so in Álava, where there was an 8% fall in relation to the same month of last year.

The number of visitors from other parts of the state grew by 7% in May 2005, rising 15% in Gipuzkoa and 7% in Bizkaia, but falling 6% in Álava. The number of overseas visitors underwent a 6% decrease in the A.C. of the Basque Country, with a reduced presence in all three provinces: Álava (-17%), Gipuzkoa (-7%) and Bizkaia (-3%).

Among visitors from the state, an increase was registered most Autonomous Communities. Numbers increased for those coming from Catalonia, Madrid, Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Cantabria, the Valencian Community and Galicia. They only fell for those coming from Extremadura, La Rioja, Murcia and Castile and León. As for overseas visitors, there was a rise in number for those coming from Italy and Latin America, among others. There was a fall for those coming from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada and Portugal, mainly.

Overnight stays registered in May 2005 came to 298,832, which represented a 4% rise in relation to last May, which to say over 10,000 more overnight stays. The inter-annual evolution of overnight stays was only positive in Gipuzkoa (8%) and Álava (7%), but decreased in Bizkaia (-2%).

The average length of stay remained stable at 1.81 days for the A.C. of the Basque Country. This index grew notably in Álava, going from 1.56 days last year to 1.83 days in May. It fell by 5 percentage points in Bizkaia and remained unchanged in the province of Gipuzkoa.

The degree of occupancy, both by places and rooms, remained steady in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole. In Álava it improved by 4% (by places) and 6% (by rooms). It fell by 7% in Bizkaia in both cases and improved by 7% and 5% respectively in Gipuzkoa.

Agrotourism: Numbers of visitors rose (19%) as did overnight stays (12%)

7,941 visitors were registered in the agrotourism establishments of the A.C. of the Basque Country in May, 19% more than the same month last year, growing 33% in Gipuzkoa, 11% in Álava and 5% in Bizkaia. Visitors from the state increased in number by 20% in the A.C. of the Basque Country and those from overseas did so by 10%.

There were 17,742 overnight stays in the agrotourism establishments of the A.C. of the Basque Country during May, which meant 12% growth in relation to the same month of last year, with important inter-annual growth in Gipuzkoa (26%), more modest growth in Álava (4%) and a 5% fall in Bizkaia.

The average stay per visitor registered a fall in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole in relation to May 2004, going from 2.39 days a year previously to 2.23 this May, an inter-annual decrease that was true for all the three provinces.

The degree of occupancy by places registered a 6% increase and the degree of occupancy by rooms underwent a rise of 4%. The increase of both indices was also shared by the provinces of Álava and Gipuzkoa, but not by Bizkaia, where both showed a negative evolution.

Table 1: Monthly results

Source: EUSTAT