Press Release 22/04/2009
SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (EETR ) MARCH 2009
Number of visitors fell by 13% in March 2009
The number of overnight stays was down by 14% compared to March 2008
There were 143,765 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in March 2009, 21,000 down on the same month of the previous year, in other words a 13% decrease, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors fell by 16% in Álava, 14% in Bizkaia and 11% in Gipuzkoa.
However, it should be noted that Holy Week was in March in 2008, while it was in April in 2009. Therefore, when making any comparisons, care should be taken as the months of March in 2008 and 2009 are not totally comparable from the tourist point of view.
The number of visitors from within Spain fell by 8% and the number of overseas visitors was down by 24%. The number of visitors from within the State fell in the three provinces: they were down by 12% in Álava and Gipuzkoa and by 4% in Bizkaia. The number of foreign visitors also decreased in the three provinces: 31% in Álava, 25% in Bizkaia and 19% in Gipuzkoa.
There was an increase in the number of visitors from La Rioja, Madrid, Navarra and from Ceuta and Melilla. There was a greater drop in the number of visitors from Catalonia, Madrid, Cantabria and C. Valenciana. The number of foreign visitors from Finland and the Netherlands rose, while there was a decrease in the number of visitors from France, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Germany, among others.
Registered overnight stays in March 2009 totalled 263,829, which was 14% down on the same month of the previous year, in other words, there were 44,000 fewer overnight stays. The year-on-year performance of overnight stays was negative in the three provinces: they were down 19% in Gipuzkoa, 16% in Álava and there was a 10% drop in Bizkaia.
The average length of stay for the Basque Country as a whole fell from 1.87 days in the previous year to 1.84 in March of this year. This decrease only occurred in Gipuzkoa (-6%), as there was a slight increase in Álava and in Bizkaia, of 1% in both cases.
The occupancy rate by bed fell by 20%, and dropped from 43.50% in March of last year to 34.97% this March. This decrease also affected all three provinces: it fell by 27% in Álava to 30.82%, by 22% in Gipuzkoa to 33.51% and by 15% in Bizkaia, down to 37.52%, the highest occupancy of the three provinces.
Rural tourism: Drop in the number of visitors (-12%) and overnight stays (-29%) in the Basque Country.
There were 8,535 visitors registered in March in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country, 12% fewer than in the same month of the previous year. By provinces, special mention should be made of the 17% increase in Álava, while there were 31% fewer visitors in Bizkaia and 9% in Gipuzkoa. There was an 11% decrease in the number of visitors from the rest of Spain in the Basque Country: they were down by 28% in Bizkaia and 10% in Gipuzkoa, but were up by 19% in Álava. The number of overseas visitors decreased by 29% throughout the Basque Country, with the number down in the three provinces: there was a notable drop in percentage terms in Bizkia (-54%) and a more moderate one in Álava and Gipuzkoa (-8% and -2%, respectively).
There were 20,592 overnight stays in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in March, which was 29% down the same month of the previous year, with year-on-year negative growth being recorded in the three provinces: They fell by 46% in Bizkaia, by 25% in Gipuzkoa and by 13% in Álava.
The average length of stay per visitor in the Basque Country overall decreased with respect to March 2008, falling from 3.00 days a year ago to 2.41 days in the same month of 2009, with this negative evolution being recorded in the three provinces. The average stay in Álava was 2.40 days, down by 26%; it fell by 31% in Bizkaia to an average of 2.40 days and the decrease was less in Gipuzkoa, down by 16% to an average stay of 2.48 days.
The occupancy rate by bed fell by 36%, down from 28.47% occupancy to 18.32%, as a result of the decreases recorded in the three provinces. In Bizkaia, occupancy stood at 13.47% (-50%), while it was 20.88% in Gipuzkoa (-30%), while it was slightly better in Álava: 20.55% (-25%).
Table 1: Monthly Results
Source:EUSTAT
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact: Gerardo Pérez Aja
Tel:+34-945-01 75 06 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Online press releases: www.eustat.es
Databank: www.eustat.eus/bancopx/english/indice.aspx