Press Release 20/10/2016
Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 8.6% in September 2016
Over the months of July, August and September, visitors to hotel establishments increased by 6.1%, and visitors to rural tourism establishments increased by 11.5%
There were 284,954 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in September 2016, 22,450 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 8.6% according to Eustat data. The number of visitors rose by 9.4% in Bizkaia, 8.9% in Gipuzkoa and 4.7% in Álava.
Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in September 2016 reached 563,581, which was also an increase of 8.6% on those registered in September of the previous year, that is, there were 44,629 more overnight stays. The year-on-year figures for overnight stays were positive in the three provinces. in Álava they were up 12.6%, in Bizkaia 9.3% and in Gipuzkoa 6.5%.
The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 11.6% in the Basque Country compared to September of the previous year, whilst the number of visitors from abroad increased by 5.1%. Álava registered an 3.6% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 7.1% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up by 17.2%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 0.4%. Gipuzkoa registered a 7.9% increase in visitors from Spain, and a 9.9% increase in foreign visitors.
The average length of stay in September was 1.98 days, exactly the same as it was in September 2015. In Álava, the average length of stay rose from 1.77 days the previous year to 1.90 in September this year. In Bizkaia, the average length of stay this September was 1.93 days, exactly the same as it was in 2015. In Gipuzkoa, the average length of stay fell from 2.11 days in September 2015 to 2.06 days this September.
There was an increase of 4 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 60.6% in September 2015 to 64.6% in September this year. Álava experienced a rise of 5.5 percentage points, increasing from 49.4% to 54.9%. Bizkaia saw an increase of 4.3 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 59.8% in September 2015 to a rate of 64.1% this September. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 2.9 percentage points, going from 66.5% in September 2015 to 69.4% in September 2016.
The occupancy rate per room also registered an upward trend, with a 4.6 percentage point increase for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 79.0%. In Álava it rose by 11.5 percentage points, standing at 71.8%; in Bizkaia it increased by 3.9 percentage points to reach 80.2%, whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 2.4 percentage points, standing at 80.3% occupancy per room.
The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in September this year was in Donostia-San Sebastián (76.3%), followed by the Gipuzkoa Coast (75.6%) and Bilbao (72.1%). Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in September 2016, with 72.1% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 61.4% on weekdays.
The bed occupancy rate during the San Sebastián Zinemaldia Film Festival stood at 92.8% in the hotel establishments of the Gipuzkoa capital
Visitor numbers during the 2016 San Sebastián Zinemaldia Film Festival increased to 16,539 in the hotel establishments of Donostia/San Sebastián between 16 and 24 September 2016 (9 nights). In this same period, the total number of overnight stays was 37,609, with an occupancy rate per bed of 75.5% and per room of 92.8%. Compared to 2015, when the festival was held between 18 and 26 September (9 nights), visitor numbers increased in San Sebastián by 5.1% and overnight stays by 7.7%.
The occupancy rate per room during the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival stood at 77.8% in the hotel establishments of Vitoria-Gasteiz
Visitor numbers during the 2016 Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival increased to 4,186 in the hotel establishments of Vitoria-Gasteiz between 6 and 10 September 2016 (5 nights). During this same period, there were a total of 9,213 overnight stays, 3.7% up from 2015, when the festival took place from 1 to 5 September (5 nights). However, visitor numbers were down 24.8% compared with the 2015 festival period, which can be explained by the fact that a number of visitors were expected to arrive during the days prior to the 2016 festival - that is to say the weekend before. The occupancy rate per room was 77.8% in 2016, and the bed occupancy rate was 58.2%.
Summer assessment: the three provinces experienced increases in visitor numbers and overnight stays
In the summer months of July, August and September, visitor numbers to the Basque Country rose by 6.1%, in other words there were 53,352 more visitors than in the same period during 2015. Bizkaia experienced the biggest rise in visitor numbers at 6.9%, closely followed by Gipuzkoa at 6.1%, whilst Álava experienced an increase of 3.6%. It was the number of visitors from Spain that increased the most in the summer of 2016, up 7.2%, whilst the number of foreign visitors increased by 4.8% for the Basque Country as a whole. In Álava the number of foreign visitors increased by 7.4%, whilst Spanish visitors went up by 1.4%. In Bizkaia, the number of foreign visitors rose by 1.5%, whilst Spanish visitors increased by 11.4%. Both these figures increased in Gipuzkoa too, with an 7.8% increase in foreign visitors, which exceeds the 4.4% increase in Spanish visitors.
Overnight stays underwent a 6.9% upward trend for the Basque Country as a whole. The increase was 9.9% in Álava, 7.3% in Bizkaia and 5.4% in Gipuzkoa.
The average stay in 2016 during the summer months remained practically unchanged at 2.1 days for the Basque Country as a whole.
Bed occupancy rate, 71.4%, and room occupancy rate, 81.3%, both exceeded figures for the previous year: 2.9 and 3.3 percentage points respectively.
In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 20.4% and overnight stays rose by 22.8% in September 2016 compared with the same month of the previous year
There were 16,895 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in September, 20.4% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors increased by 22.2%, in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 21.6%, and in Bizkaia there was an increase of 17.6%. There was a 42.7% increase in the number of visitors originating from abroad with regards to those received a year ago, representing 23.8% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 14.8%.
Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 41,108 overnight stays in September, an increase of 22.8% with respect to the same month of the previous year. By province, Álava saw an increase of 44.3%, Bizkaia 34.8% and Gipuzkoa 12.4%.
The bed occupancy rate stood at 32.4% with a rise of 4.7 percentage points from the figures obtained in September 2015. Álava recorded a rise of 5.3 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 23.3%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 32.2%, which meant an increase of 8.1 percentage points in relation to September 2015, and Gipuzkoa saw a rise of 2.5 percentage points, with an occupancy rate this September of 36.7%. Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased with respect to September 2015, going from 2.38 days a year ago to 2.43 this September.
In the months of July, August and September 2016 there was an overall increase of 11.5% in visitors to Basque rural accommodation with regards to the same months of the previous year. All three provinces were positively affected, although the changes differed by province. Álava experienced an increase of 17.2%, Gipuzkoa 11.0% and Bizkaia 9.8%. Overnight stays also exhibited an upward trend, with a 12.9% increase for the Basque Country as a whole. More specifically, there was a rise of 17.1% in Álava, 13.7% in Bizkaia and 11.6% in Gipuzkoa. The bed occupancy rate rose by 4 percentage points, the room occupancy rate rose by 4.7 percentage points and the average stay stood at 3.2 days for the Basque Country as a whole.
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