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Press Release 21/03/2014

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (ETR) FEBRUARY 2014

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 0.7 % in February

The number of overnight stays registered a decrease of 2.4% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 128,606 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2014, 878 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 0.7%, according to data prepared by Eustat. The number of visitors increased by 9.0% in Gipuzkoa, but dropped 5.7% in Álava and 2.8% in Bizkaia.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2014 reached 218,994, which was a drop of 2.4% on those registered in February of the previous year, that is, there were 5,463 fewer overnight stays. There was a year-on-year negative evolution for overnight stays in Álava and Bizkaia, where they were down by 22.9% and 6.3%, respectively. In Gipuzkoa, however, there was an increase in overnight stays of 16.0%.

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

The number of foreign visitors rose by 0.6% compared to February of the previous year, as did the number of visitors from within Spain, up 0.7%. Álava saw a decrease in foreign visitors of 10.5% and in Spanish visitors of 4.6%. In Bizkaia the number of visitors from abroad was down by 3.1%, and the number of Spanish visitors fell by 2.7%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in foreign visitor numbers of 9.4%, and the number of Spanish visitors rose by 8.9%.

The average length of stay stood at 1.70 days and represented a drop with respect to that of the previous year, 1.76 days. In Álava it went from 2.03 days in February 2013 to 1.66 this February; in Bizkaia it fell from 1.74 days in February 2013 to 1.68 days this February; for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa was up, going from 1.65 to 1.76 days.

There was a reduction in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 30.7% in February 2013 to 30.0% in February this year. In Álava there was a drop of 7.7 percentage points, where it went from 34.5% occupancy in February 2013 to 26.8% this February. Bizkaia saw a decrease of 2.1 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 32.5% in February 2013 to a rate of 30.4% in February 2014. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 4.4 percentage points, going from 26.5% in February 2013 to 30.9% in February 2014. The occupancy rate per room was also negative, down by 1.1 percentage points, for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 40.1%. In Álava it was down by 9.7 percentage points, standing at 34.5%, and in Bizkaia it decreased by 2.7 percentage points, standing at 42.4%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it increased by 4.7 percentage points, standing at 39.6% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel occupancy rate in February this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (35.3%), followed by Bilbao (33.2%) and the Metropolitan Area of Bilbao (31.6%).

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 February 2014, with 39.4% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 26.2% on weekdays.

The number of personnel employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in February decreased by 1.5%, with regards to February 2013.

Visitor numbers and overnight stays in rural accommodation decreased by 4.9% and 6.4%, respectively, in February

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 7,670 overnight stays in February, which was a drop of 6.4% in comparison with the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, Álava saw a fall of 19.4% and there was a drop of 3.2% in Gipuzkoa, with regards to February 2013, whereas a drop of 2.3% was recorded in Bizkaia.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 7.8%, repeating the figures obtained in February 2013. Álava also recorded a decrease of 1.0 percentage point, with a bed occupancy rate of 6.4%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate stood at 7.3%, representing an increase of 0.4 percentage points in comparison with February 2013. For its part, Gipuzkoa experienced a rise of 0.2 percentage points, with an occupancy rate of 8.6% for February.

There were 3,584 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in February, 4.9% fewer than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was up by 19.0%, in Gipuzkoa there was a drop of 10.8%, whereas in Bizkaia there was a drop of 8.6%.

The 235 visitors originating from abroad signified a decrease of 24.9% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 6.6% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 3.0%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor decreased this February compared to February 2013, standing at 2.14 days.

Table 2.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and occupancy rates in rural accommodation establishments in the Basque Country. February 2014
Source: Eustat. Survey on Tourist Establishments (ETR)