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Press release 22/03/2010

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (EETR )FEBRUARY 2010

Number of visitors rose by 12% in February 2010

Number of overnight stays was up by 17% compared to February 2009

There were 132,087 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2010, 14,600 up on the same month of the previous year, in other words, a 12% increase, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 23% in Álava, 14% in Bizkaia and 6% in Gipuzkoa.

The number of visitors from within Spain was up by 11% and the number of overseas visitors rose by 18%. The number of visitors from within Spain increased in the three provinces: it rose by 17% in Álava, 14% in Bizkaia and 4% in Gipuzkoa. Foreign visitors were also up in number in the three provinces, with increases of 49% in Álava, 15% in Bizkaia and 12% in Gipuzkoa.

With regard to the visitors from within Spain, the greatest increase in the percentage of visitors was from the Madrid, Aragón Catalonia and Navarra, while only those from Castilla y León, the Canary Islands and Ceuta & Melilla fell in number. There was an increase in the number of foreign visitors from France, Belgium, Portugal, United Kingdom and Central and South America, while there was a drop in the number from Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Greece and Japan.

Registered overnight stays in February 2010 totalled 235,109, which was 17% up on the same month of the previous year, in other words, there were 33,000 more overnight stays. The year-on-year performance of overnight stays was positive in the three provinces: it rose by 23% in Bizkaia, by 20% in Álava and by 6% in Gipuzkoa.

The average length of stay for the Basque Country as a whole fell from 1.72 days in the previous year to 1.78 in February of this year. This index rose in Bizkaia, from 1.70 days average stay in February 2009 to 1.84 in February of this year. The index remained unchanged in Gipuzkoa, with the average stay for February 2009 remained unchanged this year (1.73). The average stay fell in Álava, as it was 1.68 days in February 2010 compared to the 1.73 days registered in February 2009.

The occupancy rate by beds was down 8% to 33.33% in February 2010. It should be noted that this fall affected all three provinces. It improved by 13% to 36.65% occupancy in Bizkaia, while it increased by 4% in Gipuzkoa up to an occupancy rate of 31.39%. In Álava, the occupancy rate was up 3% with respect to February 2009, to 27.9%.

RURAL TOURISM

The number of visitors fell by 4% and overnight stays were down 9% in the Basque Country, compared to February 2009

There were 6,085 visitors registered in February in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country, 4% fewer than in the same month of the previous year, even though the results were not uniform in the three provinces. While the numbers increased by 39% in Bizkaia, 18% in Gipuzkoa and 1% in Álava. The number of visitors from within Spain fell by 4% in the Basque Country: there were 36% more in Bizkaia, but fell by 3% and 16% in Álava and Gipuzkoa, respectively. The number of overseas visitors decreased by 5% throughout the Basque Country, as there was a significant drop in the number in Gipuzkoa. However, they increased visibly in Álava and Bizkaia in percentage terms.

There were 13,069 overnight stays in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in February, which was 9% down on the previous year, with year-on-year positive growth being recorded in Bizkaia (9%), but it fell in Álava and Gipuzkoa by 4% and 28%, respectively.

The average length of stay per visitor in the Basque Country overall decreased with respect to February 2009, going from 2.28 days a year ago to 2.15 days this February. This negative trend was recorded in Gipuzkoa and Álava (1.99 and 2.21 days, respectively), while this index rose in Bizkaia by 6% to an average of 2.40 days in February 2010.

The occupancy rate by bed fell by 12%, down from 14.66% occupancy to 12.83%, as a result of the decreases recorded in Álava (-14%) and Gipuzkoa (-32%), while there was a 51% increase in Bizkaia.

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