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Press release of 20/12/2017

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. NOVEMBER 2017

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country rose by 10.7% in November 2017

There was an increase in both Spanish (7.4%) and foreign (18.5%) visitors

There were 213,143 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in November 2017, 20,515 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 10.7%, according to Eustat data. Visitor numbers increased: in Álava by 24.9%, in Bizkaia by 10.5% and in Gipuzkoa by 5.8%.

Overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in November 2017 reached 390,118, which was an increase of 8.2% on those registered in November of the previous year; that is, there were 29,661 more overnight stays. The year-on-year figures for overnight stays were also positive in the three provinces. In Álava they were up by 17.6%, in Bizkaia 8.2% and in Gipuzkoa 5.1%.

Table 1.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and bed occupancy rates in hotel establishments in the Basque Country. November 2017
Source: Eustat. Survey on tourist establishments

The number of visitors from within Spain registered an increase of 7.4% in November 2017, compared to November of the previous year, in the Basque Country as a whole. The number of visitors from abroad also increased by 18.5%. In the case of Álava, the number of Spanish visitors rose by 22.9% and the number of foreign visitors by 33.7%. In Bizkaia, the number of Spanish visitors was up by 7.1%, whereas the number of visitors from abroad rose by 18.8%. In Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 1.4%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 15.0%.

This November the average length of stay was 1.83 days, below the average length of stay of 1.87 days registered in November 2016. In Álava there was a decrease from 1.82 days last year to 1.71 days in November of this year; in Bizkaia the average length of stay fell from 1.87 days in November 2016 to 1.83 days in November 2017; and finally in Gipuzkoa, the average length of stay fell from 1.89 days in November 2016 to 1.88 days in November 2017.

There was an increase of 3.2 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 42.3% in November 2016 to 45.5% in November this year. In Álava there was a rise of 7.7 percentage points, where it went from 34.7% to 42.4% this November. Bizkaia saw an increase of 3.4 percentage points, going from a bed occupancy rate of 43.6% in November 2016 to a rate of 47.0% this November. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate was up 1.0 percentage point, going from 43.9% to 44.9%.

The occupancy rate per room also registered an increase, with a 2.4 percentage point rise for the Basque Country overall, reaching 59.0%. In Álava it was up by 5.1 percentage points, standing at 55.7%, and in Bizkaia it increased by 3.3 percentage points, reaching 63.0%. Meanwhile, in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 0.2 percentage points, registering 55.4% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in November this year was in Bilbao (54.8%), followed by Donostia/San Sebastián (51.0%) and Vitoria-Gasteiz (47.3%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in November 2017, with 59.7% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 40.3% on weekdays.

Finally, with regards to the profitability indicators of the sector, the average daily rate (ADR) of hotels in the Basque Country stood at 73.0 euros in November 2017, 2.4% up on the year before. The average rate stood at 70.5 euros in Álava, where it rose by 8.8%; 70.5 euros in Bizkaia, with an increase of 3.8%, and 77.4 euros in Gipuzkoa, where it dropped 0.9%.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Basque Country overall, which is dependent on the occupancy rate of hotel establishments, stood at 43.1 euros in November 2017, a 6.8% increase on November 2016. The RevPAR stood at 39.2 euros in Álava, 44.4 euros in Bizkaia, and 42.9 euros in Gipuzkoa.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers rose by 8.5% and overnight stays were up 12.0% in November 2017

There were 8,459 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in November, 8.5% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, the number of visitors was up by 14.7% in Álava, in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 9.9%, but in Bizkaia there was a slight decrease of 0.3%. The 1,004 visitors originating from abroad signified a rise of 67.3% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 11.9% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain rose by 3.6%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 18,554 overnight stays in November, with an increase of 12.0% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, there were increases in all three territories. In Álava they were up by 42.0%, in Bizkaia there was a rise of 5.9% and in Gipuzkoa they increased by 3.3%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 15.1% with a rise of 1.4 percentage points on the figures obtained in November 2016. Álava experienced an increase of 4.5 percentage points, with the bed occupancy rate standing at 17.4%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 12.6%, which meant an increase of 0.6 percentage points in relation to November 2016, and Gipuzkoa saw a rise of 0.4 percentage points, posting an occupancy rate this November of 15.5%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased this November with respect to November 2016, going from 2.12 days a year ago to 2.19 this last month.

Table 2.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and occupancy rates in rural accommodation in the Basque Country. November 2017
Source: Eustat. Survey on tourist establishments