Press Release 20/11/2015

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. OCTOBER 2015

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 11.2% in October 2015

The number of overnight stays also registered an increase of 9.9% compared to the same month of the previous year

There were 255,487 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in October 2015, 25,820 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 11.2%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 15% in Bizkaia, 9.8% in Gipuzkoa and 3.2% in Álava.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in October 2015 reached 480,965, which was an increase of 9.9% on those registered in October of the previous year, that is, there were 43,150 more overnight stays. There was a positive evolution in overnight stays in the three provinces: in Bizkaia they increased by 12.5%, in Gipuzkoa they grew by 9.0% and in Álava they were up by 3.4%.

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 10.5% in the Basque Country compared to October of the previous year, whilst the number of visitors from abroad increased by 12.5%. Álava registered a 2.3% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 5.9% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 12.6%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 19.4%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 11.8%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 7.2%.

The average length of stay in October was 1.88 days compared with the average stay of 1.91 days registered in October 2014. In Álava, with an average stay of 1.76 days, there was no variation with respect to the previous year. In Bizkaia the average stay for October was 1.88 days, and in October 2014 it was 1.92. In Gipuzkoa it remained almost unchanged: 1.94 days in October last year compared with 1.93 days registered this October.

There was an increase of 4.4 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 50.3% in October 2014 to 54.7% in October this year. Álava experienced a rise of 1.5 percentage points, increasing from 43.8% to 45.3%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 4.8 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 50.8% in October 2014 to a rate of 55.6% in October 2015. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 5.2 percentage points, going from 52.5% in October 2014 to 57.6% in October 2015.

The occupancy rate per room also registered an upward trend, with a 3.8 percentage point increase for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 67.6%. In Álava it was up by 0.8 percentage points, standing at 56.1%; in Bizkaia it increased by 4.3 percentage points to reach 71.0%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 4.4 percentage points, standing at 68.1% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in October this year was in Donostia/San Sebastián (67.2%), followed by Bilbao (64.1%) and Rioja Alavesa (60.5%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in October 2015, with 66.4% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 49.1% on weekdays.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 13.0% and overnight stays by 21.5%

There were 11,935 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in October, 13.0% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors increased by 0.2%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 28.1%, and in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 10.2%. There was a 15.2% decrease in the number of visitors originating from abroad with regards to those received a year ago, representing 13.6% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 17.4%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 25,410 overnight stays in October, with an increase of 21.5% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 36.4% in Bizkaia, Álava saw a rise of 26.4% and in Gipuzkoa they rose by 11.6%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 20.8% with a rise of 3.3 percentage points from the figures obtained in October 2014. Álava recorded a rise of 3.5 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 20.5%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 21.2%, which meant an increase of 5.2 percentage points in relation to October 2014, and Gipuzkoa saw a fall of 2 percentage points, with an occupancy rate this October of 20.8%. Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased with respect to October 2014, going from 1.98 days a year ago to 2.13 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