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Press Release 21/03/2018

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. FEBRUARY 2018

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country decreased by 0.8% in February 2018

Foreign visitors were up 6.1%, whereas Spanish visitors were down 3.7%

There were 169,737 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2018, 1,382 less than in the same month of the previous year, which is a decrease of 0.8%. The number of visitors was down 5.0% in Álava and 3.4% in Bizkaia, whereas in Gipuzkoa it was up 4.6%.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in February 2018 reached 304,383, which was a drop of 1.6% on those registered in February of the previous year, that is, there were 4,889 fewer overnight stays. There was also a negative year-on-year trend in overnight stays in Álava, where they were down by 10.8% and in Bizkaia, with a decrease of 5.5%, but in Gipuzkoa they were up 8.7%.

Table 1.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and bed occupancy rates in hotel establishments in the Basque Country. February 2018
Source: Eustat. Survey on tourist establishments

The number of visitors from within Spain fell by 3.7% in the Basque Country compared to February of the previous year, whilst the number of visitors from abroad rose by 6.1%. Álava registered a 7.2% decrease in visitors from Spain, and a 7.3% increase in foreign visitors. In Bizkaia, the number of Spanish visitors was down by 4.8%, whilst the number of visitors from abroad also fell by 0.4%. In Gipuzkoa there was a decrease in Spanish visitor numbers of 0.3%, and the number of foreign visitors rose by 14.6%.

The average length of stay in February was 1.79 days, compared to the 1.81 days average stay registered in February 2017. In Álava there was a decrease from 1.88 days last year to 1.77 days in February this year; in Bizkaia there was also a drop from 1.86 days to 1.82 days; and for its part, the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa increased from 1.70 days in February 2017 to 1.77 days this February.

There was a decrease of 1.1 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 41.0% in February 2017 to 39.9% in February this year. There were also decreases in Álava and Bizkaia. In Álava there was a drop of 4.2 percentage points, going from 39.7% to 35.5% and a fall of 3.2 points in Bizkaia, going from 44.1% in February 2017 to 40.9% this February. However, in Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate rose 2.7 percentage points, from the 37.5% achieved in February 2017 to 40.3% this February.

The occupancy rate per room was negative, down by 2.6 percentage points, for the Basque Country overall, where the occupancy rate per room stood at 51.2%. In Álava it was down by 3.7 percentage points, standing at 46.5%; in Bizkaia it fell by 5.8 percentage points to reach 53.9%; whereas in Gipuzkoa it rose by 2.0 percentage points, standing at 49.6% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in February 2018 was in Bilbao (45.5%), followed by Donostia/San Sebastián (44.2%) and Gipuzkoa Costa (40.0%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in February 2018, with 50.8% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 35.5% 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 68.5 euros in February 2018, 1.5% up on the year before. The average rate stood at 64.0 euros in Álava, where it fell by 5.5%; 69.0 euros in Bizkaia, with an increase of 4.2%, and 69.6 euros in Gipuzkoa, where it dropped 0.1%.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Basque Country overall, which is dependent on the occupancy rate of hotel establishments, stood at 35.1 euros in February 2018, 3.4% less than in February 2017. The RevPAR stood at 29.7 euros in Álava, 37.2 euros in Bizkaia, and 34.6 euros in Gipuzkoa.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 1.9% and overnight stays rose by 0.9% in February 2018

There were 5,959 visitors to rural accommodation in the Basque Country, 1.9% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors was down by 26.9%, in Bizkaia there was an increase of 27.5%, and in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 5.3%.

The 667 visitors originating from abroad signified a rise of 69.3% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 11.2% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 3.0%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 12,647 overnight stays in February 2018, with an increase of 0.9% with respect to the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava they were down by 22.1%, in Gipuzkoa 0.3% but in Bizkaia they were up 27.4%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 12.4% with a rise of 0.2 percentage points from the figures obtained in February 2017. In Álava it decreased by 3.1 percentage points, standing at 9.1%. In Gipuzkoa, the occupancy rate stood at 14.8%, with an increase of 0.6 percentage points in relation to February 2017, whereas in Bizkaia rates fell by 2.4 percentage points, reaching an occupancy rate of 11.3% this February.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor decreased this February, going from 2.14 days a year ago to 2.12 this last month.

Table 2.- Overnight stays, visitor numbers, average stay and occupancy rates in rural accommodation in the Basque Country. February 2018
Source: Eustat. Survey on tourist establishments