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Press Release 22/05/2014

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS (ETR) APRIL 2014

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country were up by 7.6% in April

The number of overnight stays registered an increase of 12.3% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 188,304 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in April 2014, 13,326 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 7.6%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 14.5% in Gipuzkoa, 8.0% in Álava, and 2.1% 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 April 2014 reached 357,328, which was an increase of 12.3% on those registered in April of the previous year, that is, there were 39,016 more overnight stays. There was a year-on-year positive evolution for overnight stays in Gipuzkoa, where they were up by 18.0%, in Bizkaia, where they were up 9.5%, and in Álava, where they rose by 6.1%.

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

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 10.5% compared to April of the previous year, as did the number of foreign visitors, up 2.6%. Álava saw a decrease in foreign visitors of 11.5% and an increase in Spanish visitors of 15.1%. In Bizkaia the number of visitors from abroad was down by 4.4%, and the number of Spanish visitors rose by 5.9%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in foreign visitor numbers of 14.4%, and the number of Spanish visitors rose by 14.5%.

The average length of stay stood at 1.90 days and represented an increase with respect to that of April the previous year, which was 1.82 days. In Álava it went from 1.86 days in April 2013 to 1.83 this April; in Bizkaia it rose from 1.79 days in April 2013 to 1.92 days this April; for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa rose from 1.84 days in April 2013 to 1.90 days this April.

There was an increase of 4.3 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 38.3% in April 2013 to 42.6% in April this year. In Álava there was a rise of 1.7 percentage points, where it went from 34.2% occupancy in April 2013 to 35.8% this April. Bizkaia saw a increase of 3.6 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 39.0% in April 2013 to a rate of 42.6% in April 2014. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 6.4 percentage points, going from 39.2% in April 2013 to 45.6% in April 2014. The occupancy rate per room was also positive, up by 2.0 percentage points for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 51.3%. In Álava it was down by 0.8 percentage points, standing at 42.5%, and in Bizkaia it increased by 0.9 percentage points, standing at 52.9%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 4.6 percentage points, standing at 52.9% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel occupancy rate in April this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (54.8%), followed by Bilbao (48.6%) and the coast of Gipuzkoa (45.7%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in April 2014, with 54.8% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 38.1% on weekdays.

The number of personnel employed in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in April decreased by 2.5%, with regards to April 2013.

Visitor numbers increased by 68.1% in rural accommodation and overnight stays doubled in April

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 28,169 overnight stays in April, more than twice that of the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 143.7% in Álava, by 135.1% in Bizkaia and by 86.7% in Gipuzkoa.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 24.1% with a rise of 12.8 percentage points from the figures obtained in April 2013. Álava also recorded an increase of 13.4 percentage point, with a bed occupancy rate of 21.7%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate stood at 20.2%, representing an increase of 11.7 percentage points in comparison with April 2013. For its part, Gipuzkoa experienced a rise of 13.2 percentage points, with an occupancy rate of 27.7% for April.

There were 10,808 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in April, 68.1% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was up by 79.0%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 96.4%, and in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 53.5%.

The 949 visitors originating from abroad signified an increase of 50.4% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 8.8% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 70.0%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased this April compared to April 2013, standing at 2.61 days.

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