Press Release 21/09/2016

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS AUGUST 2016

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 3.4% and overnight stays by 4.3% in August 2016

It was the number of visitors from abroad that increased the most this August, by 6.7%

There were 333,043 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in August 2016, 10,890 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 3.4%, according to Eustat data. The number of visitors was up 4.9% in Bizkaia and 3.9% in Gipuzkoa whereas in Álava there was a drop of 1.9%.

Overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in August 2016 reached 729,025, which was an increase of 4.3% on those registered in August of the previous year; that is, there were 30,128 more overnight stays. The year-on-year figures for overnight stays were positive in the three provinces. In Bizkaia they were up by 5.1%, in Álava by 4.2% and in Gipuzkoa by 3.4%.

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 0.8% in the Basque Country compared to August 2015, whilst the number of visitors from abroad increased by 6.7%. Álava registered a 5.5% decrease in visitors from Spain, and a 3.6% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 3.6%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad saw a 6.6% rise. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 0.4%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 8.1%.

The average length of stay in August was 2.19 days, longer than the average stay of 2.17 days registered in August 2015. In Álava there was an increase from 1.78 days last year to 1.89 days in August this year; in Bizkaia the average stay this August was the same as in August 2015, which was 2.17 days in both cases; and for its part, in Gipuzkoa the average length of stay fell slightly from 2.35 days in August 2015 to 2.34 days this August.

There was an increase of 0.7 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 78.3% in August 2015 to 79.0% in August this year. Álava experienced a rise of 1.0 percentage points, increasing from 69.5% to 70.5%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 1.4 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 77.1% in August 2015 to a rate of 78.5% in August 2016. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points, going from 83.3% in August 2015 to 83.1% in August 2016.

The occupancy rate per room also registered an upward trend, with a 1.4 percentage point increase for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 85.1%. In Álava it was up by 3.4 percentage points, standing at 76.5%; in Bizkaia it increased by 1.4 percentage points to reach 85.2%; whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 0.4 percentage points, standing at 88.3% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in August this year was on the Gipuzkoa Coast (88.2%), followed by Donostia-San Sebastián (87.8%) and Bilbao (83.4%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in August 2016, with 83.8% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 77.3% on weekdays.

The occupancy rate per room during the festivals of the three Basque capitals was 88.8% in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 89.5% in Bilbao and 95.8% in Donostia-San Sebastián

In Vitoria-Gasteiz there were 7,844 visitors and 15,084 overnight stays during the 2016 Virgen Blanca festival, over the dates of 4 to 9 August, with an occupancy rate per bed of 77.5% and per room of 88.8%. Compared to 2015 visitor numbers increased by 5.8% and overnight stays fell by 2.8%

In Donostia-San Sebastián, during the Aste Nagusia celebrations, between 13 and 20 August 2016 (8 nights), 16,937 visitors and 42,627 overnight stays were recorded, with an occupancy rate per room of 95.8% and per bed of 92.2%. Compared to 2015, when the festival was held between 8 and 15 August (8 nights), visitor numbers increased in Donostia-San Sebastián by 2.8% and overnight stays by 3.0%

Visitor numbers during the 2016 Bilbao Aste Nagusia Festival increased to 27,053 in the hotel establishments of the capital of Bizkaia. These were visits that lasted from 20 to 28 August 2016 (9 nights). In this same period, the total number of overnight stays was 58,900, with an occupancy rate per bed of 81.2% and per room of 89.5%. Compared to 2015, when the festival was held between 22 and 30 August (9 nights), both visitors numbers and overnight stays increased, by 10.5% and 9.0%, respectively

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 6.8% and overnight stays were up 5.9% in August 2016

There were 24,522 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in August, 6.8% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors rose by 37.2%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 2.2%, and in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 2.0%. The number of visitors originating from abroad saw a rise of 15.5% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 20.8% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 4.8%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 95,653 overnight stays in August, with an increase of 5.9% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, they were up 12.6% in Álava, Bizkaia saw an increase of 8.0% and in Gipuzkoa they rose by 3.0%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 70.8% with a rise of 1.5 percentage points from the figures obtained in August 2015. Álava recorded an increase of 0.8 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 46.5%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 73.7%, which meant an increase of 3.5 percentage points in relation to August 2015, and Gipuzkoa saw a fall of 1.4 percentage points, with an occupancy rate this August of 79.7%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor decreased slightly with respect to August 2015, going from 3.94 days a year ago to 3.90 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