Press Release 19/05/2015
Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 9.9% in Easter 2015
The number of overnight stays registered an increase of 9.6% compared to the same Easter period of 2014
There were 38,978 visitors and 84,462 overnight stays registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in the period between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday (4 nights), according to Eustat data.
In the hotel establishments of the Basque Country there was a 9.9% increase in the number of visitors, while overnight stays were up by 9.6% in Easter 2015 with respect to the same period of last year.
Both the number of visitors from within Spain, 29,078, and those from abroad, 9,900, increased in terms of visits and overnight stays. Visitors from within Spain rose by 9.6% and foreign visitors increased their numbers by 10.8%. The overnight stays of visitors from within Spain rose by 10.3% and from abroad by 7.2%.
All three Provinces showed positive trends this Easter in terms of overnight stays. Visitor numbers increased in Bizkaia and particularly in Gipuzkoa, whereas the number remained the same in Álava.
More specifically, in Gipuzkoa there was a 15.9% increase in the number of travellers and a 13.4% increase in overnight stays, and in Bizkaia there were positive values of 8.2% and 7.6% respectively. For its part, in Álava the number of overnight stays increased by 5.8% and the number of visitors was the same as last year.
The occupancy rate per room was up from 70.6% in 2014 to 77.8% in 2015.
The occupancy rate per room and day for the Basque Country as a whole varied between 59.3% on Sunday and 88.2% on Friday. Friday had the highest occupancy rate per room in the three provinces. On the same day in Gipuzkoa, occupancy rate was 92.7%, in Bizkaia it was 87.0%, whereas in Álava it was 80.8%. On that same Friday, occupancy rates were 97.4% in Donostia-San Sebastián and 93.3% in Bilbao, and 84.4% in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The average length of stay was 2.17 days for the Autonomous Community as a whole; it rose to 2.18 days in the cases of Álava and Bizkaia, and was 2.14 days in the case of Gipuzkoa. In the capitals, the average length of stays were 2.27 in Bilbao, 2.26 in Vitoria-Gasteiz and 2.20 days in Donostia-San Sebastián.
Rural tourism establishments registered a decrease of 10.6% in the number of visitors, and of 7.9% in overnight stays with respect to the same period of Easter 2014
In the period between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday (4 nights) there were a total of 2,927 visitors registered in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country, 347 fewer than in Easter 2014. This was a decrease of 10.6% in the number of visitors with respect to the previous year. The largest decrease was registered in Gipuzkoa (-17.8%), followed by Álava (-13.1%), and finally, Bizkaia registered an increase of 8.7%.
11,488 overnight stays were registered in the Autonomous Community as a whole, 844 more than in the same period of the previous year, which is equivalent to an increase of 7.9% for the Basque Country. There were increases in Bizkaia, 37.2%, and in Gipuzkoa, 5.9%. In Álava the decrease in the number of overnight stays rose to 15.8%.
The occupancy rate per room rose in the Basque Country overall, standing at 72.3%. It increased to 67.8% in Bizkaia, up to 76.7% in Gipuzkoa and it decreased in Álava, standing at 69.2%.
The average length of stay was 3.92 days for the Autonomous Community as a whole; it rose to 4.14 days in the case of Bizkaia, 4.07 in the case of Gipuzkoa, and was 3.34 days in the case of Álava.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
Further press releases on ETR - Survey on tourist establishments of the Basque Country
Databank on ETR - Survey on tourist establishments of the Basque Country