Press Release 20/05/2016

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS, APRIL 2015

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 6.1% in April 2016

In the balance for the first four months of the year, the number of visitors grew by 13.5% and overnight stays were up 14.4%

There were 221,555 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in April 2016, 12,730 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 6.1%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 8.2% in Bizkaia, 5.0% in Gipuzkoa, and 1.6% in Álava. When interpreting these data, it should be taken into account that Easter of 2015 was in April, whereas this year, 2016, it was in March.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in April 2016 reached 397,202, which was an increase of 2.7% on those registered in April of the previous year, that is, there were 10,447 more overnight stays. There was a positive year-on-year change in overnight stays in Bizkaia, where they rose by 4.4% and in Gipuzkoa, where they were up by 2.4%, but in Álava they were down by 2.8%.

The accumulated first four months of the year, which allows for an even comparison, give an increase of 13.5% in visits and 14.4% in overnight stays for the Basque Country as a whole. The three provinces saw upward trends in both magnitudes. In Álava, visitor numbers rose by 9.3% and overnight stays were up 12.4%; in Bizkaia they were up 12.1% and 13.0%, respectively, and in Gipuzkoa there were 16.9% more visitors and a 17% increase in overnight stays.

The number of visitors from abroad rose by 13.7% in the Basque Country compared to April of the previous year, whilst there was an increase in the proportion of Spanish visitors of 1.9%. Álava saw a 1.5% decrease in Spanish visitors, but there was a 10.9% rise in visitors from abroad. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 7.1%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 10.3%. In Gipuzkoa there was a decrease in Spanish visitor numbers of 3.2%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 18.3%.

The average length of stay in April was 1.79 days, down on the 1.85 days average stay registered in April 2015. In Álava there was a decrease from 1.76 days last year to 1.69 days in April this year; in Bizkaia it fell from 1.86 days in April 2015 to 1.80 days this April; and for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa also decreased from 1.87 days in April 2015 to 1.82 days this April.

There was an increase of 0.4 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 46.0% in April 2015 to 46.4% in April this year. Álava experienced a decrease of 0.8 percentage points, from 35.6% to 34.8%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 0.7 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 46.9% in April 2015 to a rate of 47.6% in April 2016. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 0.4 percentage points, going from 49.4% in April 2015 to 49.8% in April 2016.

The occupancy rate per room also registered an upward trend, with a 2.1 percentage point increase for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 58.9%. In Álava it was up by 2.3 percentage points, standing at 46.5%; in Bizkaia it increased by 2.4 percentage points to reach 62.9%; whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 1.4 percentage points, standing at 58.9% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in April this year was in Bilbao (56.8%), followed by Donostia/San Sebastián (56.7%) and Gipuzkoa Costa (51.5%). Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in April 2016, with 56.4% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 41.4% on weekdays.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers fell by 8.4% and overnight stays were down 26.2% in April 2016

There were 10,035 visitors to rural accommodation in the Basque Country in April, 8.4% fewer than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was down by 1.3%, in Bizkaia there was a drop of 6.5%, and in Gipuzkoa there was a decrease of 12.3%. In terms of the number of visitors from abroad, there was a decrease of 6.7% with regards to those received a year ago, and these accounted for 12.2% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 8.7%. It should once again be taken into account that this year, Easter was in March and in 2015 it was in April, which clearly has an effect on the comparison.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 19,561 overnight stays in April, with a decrease of 26.2% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they dropped 13.8% in Álava, 20.8% in Bizkaia and 33.8% in Gipuzkoa.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 16.3% with a fall of 6.0 percentage points from the figures obtained in April 2015. Álava recorded a drop of 4.3 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 17.0%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 16.4%, which meant a decrease of 4.0 percentage points in relation to April 2015, and Gipuzkoa saw a fall of 8.0 percentage points, with an occupancy rate this April of 15.9%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor decreased this April with respect to April 2015, going from 2.42 days a year ago to 1.95 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