Press Release 20/09/2013
Overnight stays of visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 0.9% in August
The number of visitors registered an increase of 2.5% in comparison with the same month of the previous year
Overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in August 2013 stood at 626,775, which represents an increase of 0.9% in comparison with those registered in August 2012, according to data prepared by EUSTAT, that is, there were 5,334 more overnight stays. Overnight stays witnessed a negative year-on-year evolution in Álava with a drop of 8.5%, whilst in Bizkaia, an increase of 0.6% was registered in comparison with August 2012, and Gipuzkoa registered an increase of 4.7%.
Moreover, there were 294,753 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in August 2013, 7,072 more than the same month of the previous year, which represents an increase of 2.5%. Visitor numbers were down by 5.9% en Álava, but in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa they were up by 2.7% and 6.0%, respectively.
The number of foreign visitors rose by 6.8% in comparison with the month of August in 2012, whilst the number of Spanish visitors fell by 0.8% in comparison with the same month in the previous year. Álava saw a decrease in visitor numbers from abroad, down 11.5%, and Spanish visitors, down 2.4%, compared to the same month of the previous year. In Bizkaia, the number of Spanish visitors also fell, down 0.8%; however, foreign visitors rose by 7.3%. In contrast, Gipuzkoa reported positive results, with an increase in the number of foreign visitors, up 13.6%, and a slight increase in the number of national visitors, up 0.1%.
The average length of stay stood at 2.13 days representing a drop with respect to that of the previous year: 2.16 days. In Álava this figure fell from 1.91 in August 2012 to 1.86 this August; in Bizkaia it was down, from 2.13 days in August 2012 to 2.09 days this August and in Gipuzkoa it was down, falling from 2.31 to 2.28 days.
There was a slight increase in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, rising from 69.2% in August 2012 to 69.3% in August this year. Álava witnessed a fall of 1.3 percentage points, dropping from an occupancy rate of 59.9% in August 2012 to a rate of 58.7% this August. The other two provinces saw slight increases in the occupancy rate this August. The greatest increase occurred in Gipuzkoa, rising 0.4 percentage points, from 74.7% to 75.1%, whilst Bizkaia witnessed an occupancy rate of 68.3%, in contrast to the 68.2% of the previous year, a rise of 0.1 percentage points in comparison with 2012.
The highest hotel occupancy rate this August occurred on the coast of Guipuzkoa (83.6%), followed by Donostia/San Sebastián (83.4%), then Bilbao (72.0%) and its metropolitan area (69.6%).
Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in August 2013, with 70.8% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 68.6% on weekdays.
The number of personnel employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in August 2013 fell by 1.8% in comparison with August 2012.
Overnight stays in rural accommodation decreased by 4.7% in August, although the number of visitors rose by 4.7%
Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 75,549 overnight stays in August, which was a drop of 3.2% in comparison with the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, Bizkaia recorded a drop of 11.5%, whereas Gipuzkoa experienced a less severe fall of 1.6%. However, Álava witnessed an increase of 12.1% with regards to August of the previous year.
The bed occupancy rate, 55.1%, also experienced a downturn of 1.4 percentage points in relation to August 2012. The fall experienced in Bizkaia was 4.0 percentage points, with the occupancy rate in August standing at 52.7%. Gipuzkoa also recorded a decrease of 1.4 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 66.1%. In Álava the occupancy rate stood at 33.4%, representing an increase of 2.7 percentage points in comparison with August 2012.
There were 19,817 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in August, 4.7% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, Álava and Gipuzkoa witnessed increases of 15.0% and 13.7%, respectively, whereas Bizkaia recorded a fall of 12.1%.
The 3,851 visitors originating from abroad signified an increase of 17.4% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 19.4% of the total number of visitors. For their part, the number of visitors from within Spain dropped by 2.0%.
Lastly, the average length of stay per visitor was slightly down, going from 4.12 days a year ago to 3.81 days in August 2013.
Note: The Statistics on Tourist Establishments for June were gathered in accordance with a methodology that has meant large changes in all stages of the operation, and which allows better desegregations of results, both geographical and temporal. Furthermore, the framework of reference has been updated, incorporating units that were previously not collected. This has meant the recalculating of the entire reference series from January 2011, from when comparable data has been available. Eustat will soon proceed to link the homogenous series
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
Further press releases on ETR - Survey on Tourist Establishments of the Basque Country
Databank on ETR - Survey on Tourist Establishments of the Basque Country