Press Release 19/12/2013
Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country were down by 1.2% in November
The number of overnight stays registered a decrease of 2.3% in comparison with the same month of the previous year
There were 170,382 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in November 2013, 2,063 down on the same month of the previous year, which was a decrease of 1.2%, according to Eustat data. Visitor numbers in Gipuzkoa were up 5.7%, while visitor numbers in were down by 8.6% in Álava and 3.7% in Bizkaia.
Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in November 2013 reached 310,806, which was a drop of 2.3% on those registered in November of the previous year, that is, there were 7,295 fewer overnight stays. Overnight stays fell substantially in Álava, with a decrease of 19.7%. There was also a drop in Bizkaia, though more moderately, by 2.7%, whereas in Gipuzkoa there was an increase in overnight stays of 6.7%.
The number of foreign visitors fell by 0.5% in comparison with November 2012, whilst the number of visitors from within Spain was down by 1.5% in comparison with the same month of the previous year. Álava saw a decrease in visitor numbers from abroad, down 23.8%, as well as Spanish visitors, down 4.5%. The number of Spanish visitors to Bizkaia also fell, by 5.0%, but there was practically the same number of foreign visitors as the same month of the previous year (0.0% change). In contrast, Gipuzkoa reported positive results, with increases both in the number of foreign visitors, up 6.9%, and visitors from within Spain, up 5.2%.
The average length of stay stood at 1.82 days and represented a drop with respect to that of the previous year, when it stood at 1.84 days. In Álava this figure fell from 1.91 in November 2012 to 1.68 this November; in Bizkaia it rose from 1.82 days in November 2012 to 1.84 days this November, and in Gipuzkoa it was also up, increasing from 1.85 to 1.87 days.
There was a reduction in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 39.3% in November 2012 to 37.5% in November this year. Álava witnessed a fall of 7.8 percentage points, dropping from an occupancy rate of 40.2% in November 2012 to a rate of 32.4% this November. Bizkaia saw a decrease of 2.2 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 40.4% in November 2012 to a rate of 38.2% in November this year. Gipuzkoa experienced a rise of 1.3 percentage points, increasing from 37.4% to 38.7%.
The highest hotel occupancy rate in November this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (44.4%), followed by Bilbao (42.7%) and Rioja Alavesa (38.0%).
Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in November 2013, with 51.4% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 30.4% on weekdays.
The number of staff employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in November 2013 increased by 0.6% in comparison with November 2012.
Visitor numbers and overnight stays in rural accommodation decreased by 6.5% in November
Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 16,747 overnight stays in November, which was a drop of 6.5% in comparison with the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, a decrease of 33.1% was recorded in Bizkaia, while Álava saw a fall of 5.7% and Gipuzkoa witnessed a rise of 9.9% in comparison to November 2012.
The bed occupancy rate, 14.3%, also experienced a slight drop of 0.4 percentage points in relation to November 2012. The fall experienced in Bizkaia was 4.2 percentage points, with the occupancy rate in November standing at 10.6%. Álava also recorded a decrease of 0.2 percentage points, with the bed occupancy rate remaining at 12.2%. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate stood at 17.6%, representing an increase of two percentage points in comparison with November 2012.
There were 7,553 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in November, 6.5% down on the same month of the previous year. By province, Gipuzkoa saw an increase of 12.6%; while decreases of 9.5% and 38.3% were recorded in Álava and Bizkaia respectively.
The 389 visitors originating from abroad signified a decrease of 25.6% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 5.2% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain dropped by 5.1%.
Finally, the average length of stay per visitor remained unchanged this November compared to November 2012, at 2.22 days.
Note: The Statistics on Tourist Establishments since June have been 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 reference framework 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. Homogenous series can be found in the Databank.
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