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Press Release 20/03/2015

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. FEBRUARY 2015

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 6.0% in February 2015

The number of overnight stays registered an increase of 8.1% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 136,273 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2015, 7,667 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 6.0%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 8.5% in Bizkaia, 4.8% in Gipuzkoa, and 0.3% in Álava.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2015 reached 236,803, which was an increase of 8.1% on those registered in February of the previous year, that is, there were 17,809 more overnight stays. There was also a positive evolution in overnight stays in the three provinces: in Bizkaia they increased by 13.2%, in Álava they rose by 5.5% and in Gipuzkoa they were up by 2.6%.

Table 1.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and bed occupancy rates in hotel establishments in the Basque Country. February 2015
Source: Eustat. Survey on tourist establishments (ETR)

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 4.8% in the Basque Country compared to February of the previous year, whilst there was an increase in the proportion of foreign visitors of 9.3%. Álava registered a 0.2% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 0.7% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 7.9%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 10.2%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 2.8%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 10.1%.

The average length of stay in February was 1.74 days, up on the 1.70 days average stay registered in February 2014. In Álava there was an increase from 1.66 days last year to 1.75 days in February this year; in Bizkaia it rose from 1.68 days in February 2014 to 1.75 days this February; and for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa dropped from 1.76 days in February 2014 to 1.72 days this February.

There was an increase of 2.1 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 30.0% in February 2014 to 32.1% in February this year. Álava experienced a rise of 1.1 percentage points, increasing from 26.8% to 27.9%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 3.6 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 30.4% in February 2014 to a rate of 34.0% this February. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 0.5 percentage points, going from 30.9% in February 2014 to 31.4% in February 2015.

The occupancy rate per room was also positive, up by 3.1 percentage points for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 43.3%. In Álava it was up by 3.0 percentage points, standing at 37.5%; in Bizkaia it increased by 4.4 percentage points, standing at 46.8%; whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 1.6 percentage points, standing at 41.2% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel occupancy rate per bed in May this year was in Bilbao (39.3%), followed by Donostia/San Sebastián (35.6%) and the Metropolitan Area of Bilbao (not including the capital, 31.2%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in February 2015, with 42.7% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 27.7% on weekdays.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 12.8% and overnight stays rose by 16.4% in February

There were 4,044 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in February, 12.8% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was down by 8.5%, in Bizkaia there was a drop of 12.8%, and in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 36.0%. The 1,067 visitors originating from abroad signified a decrease of 13.2% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 5.0% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 14.7%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 8,931 overnight stays in February, with an increase of 16.4% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 3.8% in Álava, down by 8.7% in Bizkaia and rose by 33.4% in Gipuzkoa.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 9.1% with a rise of 1.3 percentage points from the figures obtained in February 2014. Álava recorded an increase of 0.7 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 7.1%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 6.3%, which meant an decrease of 1.0 percentage points in relation to February 2014, and Gipuzkoa saw a rise of 3.0 percentage points to reach an occupancy rate this February of 11.6%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased this February with respect to February 2014, going from 2.14 days a year ago to 2.21 this last month.

Table 2.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and occupancy rates in rural accommodation establishments in the Basque Country. February 2015
Source: Eustat. Survey on tourist establishments (ETR)