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Press Release 21/02/2014

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (ETR) JANUARY 2014

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country were down by 5.5% in January

The number of overnight stays registered a decrease of 7% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 114,653 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in January 2014, 6,660 down on the same month of the previous year, which was a decrease of 5.5%, according to data prepared by Eustat. Visitor numbers were down in the three provinces, with Gipuzkoa seeing the smallest drop, 0.7%, whereas in Álava and Bizkaia they fell by 5.4% and 8.7%, respectively.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in January 2014 stood at 197,825, which was a decrease of 7% on those registered in January of the previous year, that is, there were 14,778 fewer overnight stays. There was a year-on-year negative evolution for overnight stays in Álava and Bizkaia, where they were down by 14.7% and 10.3%, respectively. In Gipuzkoa, however, there was an increase in overnight stays of 2.2%.

Table 1.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and bed occupancy rates in hotel establishments in the Basque Country. January 2014
Source: Eustat. Survey on Tourist Establishments (ETR)

The number of foreign visitors fell by 8.4% compared to January of the previous year, as did the number of visitors from within Spain, down 4.4%. Álava saw a decrease in foreign visitors of 18.3% and in Spanish visitors of 1.6%. In Bizkaia the number of visitors from abroad was down by 10.9%, and the number of Spanish visitors fell by 7.9%. In Gipuzkoa the fall in foreign visitor numbers stood at 2% and that of Spanish visitors at 0.1%.

The average length of stay stood at 1.73 days and represented a drop with respect to that of the previous year, 1.75 days. In Álava it went from 1.96 days in January 2013 to 1.77 this January; in Bizkaia it fell from 1.75 days in January 2013 to 1.72 days this January; for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa was up, going from 1.67 to 1.72 days.

There was a reduction in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 27.4% in January 2013 to 25.2% in January this year. In Álava there was a drop of 3.5 percentage points, where it went from 25.7% occupancy in January 2013 to 22.2% this January. Bizkaia saw a decrease of 3.3 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 28.8% in January 2013 to a rate of 25.5% in January 2014. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate remained at 26.2%. The occupancy rate per room was also negative, down by 2.7 percentage points, for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 33.7%. In Álava it was down by 3 percentage points, standing at 29.8% and in Bizkaia it decreased by 4.4 percentage points, standing at 34.9%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it remained virtually the same (-0.1), standing at 33.9% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel occupancy rate in January this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (30.4%), followed by the metropolitan area of Bilbao (28.6%) and Bilbao (28.1%).

Graphic 1.- Evolution of occupancy rates for hotel establishments in the Basque Country according to type of day (%)
Source: Eustat. Survey on Tourist Establishments (ETR)

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in January 2014, with 29.7% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 23.4% on weekdays.

The number of personnel employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in January increased by 0.7%, with regards to January 2013.

Visitor numbers and overnight stays in rural accommodation increased by 8% and 14%, respectively, in January

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 7,838 overnight stays in January, which was a rise of 14% in comparison with the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, Álava saw an increase of 123.9% and there was a rise of 6.9% in Gipuzkoa, with regards to January 2013, whereas a drop of 15.8% was recorded in Bizkaia.

The bed occupancy rate reached 7.2%, recording an increase of 1.2 percentage points in relation to January of the previous year. Álava experienced and increase of 5.1 percentage points, with the bed occupancy rate standing at 8.6%. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate stood at 7.2%, representing an increase of 0.8 percentage points in comparison with January 2013. For its part, Bizkaia experienced a drop of 1 percentage point, with an occupancy rate of 6.3% for January.

There were 3,122 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in January, 8% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was up by 57.7% and in Gipuzkoa the increase was 18.9%, whereas in Bizkaia there was a drop of 36.1%.

The 380 visitors originating from abroad signified an increase of 44.5% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 12.2% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 4.4%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased this January compared to January 2013, standing at 2.51 days.