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Press Release 22/04/2014

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (ETR) MARCH 2014

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country were down by 13.4 % in March

Overnight stays registered a decrease of 17.2% with respect to the same month of the previous year, which coincided with Easter 2013

There were 161,426 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in March 2014, 25,054 down on the same month of the previous year, which was a decrease of 13.4%, according to data prepared by Eustat. The number of visitors fell by 16.0% in Gipuzkoa, 15.4% in Álava, and 10.8% in Bizkaia. When interpreting these data, it should be taken into account that Easter of 2013 was in March, whereas this year, 2014, it was in April.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in March 2014 reached 288,927, which was a drop of 17.2% on those registered in March of the previous year, that is, there were 60,051 fewer overnight stays. There was a year-on-year negative evolution for overnight stays in Álava, where they were down by 23.1%, in Gipuzkoa, where they were down 18.9%, and in Bizkaia, where they fell by 13.9%.

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

The number of foreign visitors fell by 17.2% compared to March of the previous year, as did the number of visitors from within Spain, down 12.0%. Álava saw a decrease in foreign visitors of 24.4% and in Spanish visitors of 13.1%. In Bizkaia the number of visitors from abroad was down by 15.4%, and the number of Spanish visitors fell by 9.0%. In Gipuzkoa there was an decrease in foreign visitor numbers of 17.5%, and the number of Spanish visitors fell by 15.3%.

The average length of stay stood at 1.79 days and represented a drop with respect to that of March of the previous year, 1.87 days. In Álava it went from 1.90 days in March 2013 to 1.73 this March; in Bizkaia it fell from 1.83 days in March 2013 to 1.77 days this March; for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa fell from 1.91 days in March 2013 to 1.84 days this March.

There was a reduction of 7.4 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 41.3% in March 2013 to 33.8% in March this year. In Álava there was a drop of 8.7 percentage points, where it went from 37.0% occupancy in March 2013 to 28.3% this March. Bizkaia saw a decrease of 6.2 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 41.6% in March 2013 to a rate of 35.5% in March 2014. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate decreased by 8.5 percentage points, going from 42.6% in March 2013 to 34.2% in March 2014. The occupancy rate per room was also negative, down by 5.9 percentage points, for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 44.7%. In Álava it was down by 8.2 percentage points, standing at 37.3%, and in Bizkaia it decreased by 4.2 percentage points, standing at 48.5%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it decreased by 7.0 percentage points, standing at 43.1% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel occupancy rate in March this year was in Bilbao (40.6%), followed by Donostia-San Sebastián (38.9%) and the Metropolitan Area of Bilbao (32.7%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in March 2014, with 45.3% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 29.1% on weekdays.

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

Visitor numbers and overnight stays in rural accommodation decreased by 18.1% and 43.0%, respectively, in March

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 13,663 overnight stays in March, which was a drop of 43.0% in comparison with the same month of the previous year, which coincided with Easter 2013. At provincial level, Álava saw a fall of 32.2% and there was a drop of 47.2% in Gipuzkoa, with regards to March 2013, whereas a drop of 39.6% was recorded in Bizkaia.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 12.0% with a fall of 7.3 percentage points from the figures obtained in March 2013. Álava also recorded a decrease of 3.9 percentage point, with a bed occupancy rate of 10.3%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate stood at 10.5%, representing an decrease of 5.5 percentage points in comparison with March 2013. For its part, Gipuzkoa experienced a fall of 9.8 percentage points, with an occupancy rate of 13.7% for March.

There were 7,675 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in March, 18.1% fewer than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was down by 2.7%, in Gipuzkoa there was a drop of 24.2%, whereas in Bizkaia there was a drop of 13.2%.

The 432 visitors originating from abroad signified a decrease of 31.0% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 5.6% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 17.2%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor decreased this March compared to March 2013, standing at 1.78 days.

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