Press Release 23/07/2015

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. JUNE 2015

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 6.8% in June 2015

The number of overnight stays also registered an increase of 6.8% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 242,380 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in June 2015, 15,481 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 6.8%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors increased by 9.1% in Bizkaia and by 5.0% both in Gipuzkoa and Álava.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in June 2015 reached 457,476, which was an increase of 6.8% on those registered in June of the previous year, that is, there were 29,018 more overnight stays. There was also a positive variation in overnight stays in the three provinces: in Gipuzkoa they increased by 8.4%, in Bizkaia they rose by 6.2% and in Álava they were up by 3.3%.

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 2.8% in the Basque Country compared to June of the previous year, whilst there was an increase in the proportion of foreign visitors of 12.6%. Álava registered a 1.8% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 13.0% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 3.9%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 17.3%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 1.9%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 8.4%.

The average length of stay in June was 1.89 days, equal to the average stay of 1.89 days registered in June 2014. In Álava there was a decrease from 1.75 days last year to 1.72 days in June this year; in Bizkaia it fell from 1.89 days in June 2014 to 1.84 days this June; and for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa increased in June 2014, when it was 1.93 days, to 2.00 days in June 2015.

There was an increase of 3.3 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 50.7% in June 2014 to 54.0% in June this year. Álava experienced a rise of 1.8 percentage points, increasing from 40.5% to 42.3%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 1.8 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 49.4% in June 2014 to a rate of 51.2% in June 2014. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 6.1 percentage points, going from 56.6% in June 2014 to 62.7% in June 2015.

The occupancy rate per room was also positive, up by 4.3 percentage points for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 67.0%. In Álava it was up by 2.6 percentage points, standing at 52.3%; in Bizkaia it increased by 2.4 percentage points, standing at 66.8%; whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 7.4 percentage points, standing at 73.3% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in June this year was in Donostia-San Sebastián (73.3%), followed by the Gipuzkoa Coast (63.7%) and Bilbao (58.5%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in June 2015, with 64.6% of occupied places, with the registered occupancy standing at 50.2% on weekdays.

The occupancy rate per room during festival Azkena-Rock stood at 88.9% in the hotel establishments of Vitoria-Gasteiz

Visitor numbers during the advertising festival Azkena-Rock increased to 2,424 in the hotel establishments of Vitoria-Gasteiz. These were visits that lasted from 19 to 20 June (2 nights). In this same period, the total number of overnight stays in Vitoria-Gasteiz was 4,995, with an occupancy rate per room of 88.9%

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 9.9% and overnight stays fell by 1.1% in June 2015

There were 11,726 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in June, 9.9% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was up by 10.6%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 14.7%, and in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 7.1%. The number of visitors originating from abroad saw an increase of 14.6% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 15.9% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 9.0%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 24,853 overnight stays in June, with a decrease of 1.1% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 28.5% in Álava, Bizkaia saw a fall of 7.5% and in Gipuzkoa they rose by 11.5%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 20.6% with a fall of 0.3 percentage points from the figures obtained in June 2014. Álava recorded a rise of 3.6 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 16.7%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 19.6%, which meant an increase of 1.4 percentage points in relation to June 2014, and Gipuzkoa saw a fall of 3.0 percentage points to an occupancy rate this June of 22.9%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor decreased this June with respect to June 2014, going from 2.36 days a year ago to 2.12 this last month.

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