Press release of 21/11/2018

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. OCTOBER 2018

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country rose by 3.3% in October 2018

The increase was above all in the number of foreign visitors, which was by 7.6%

There were 281,042 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in October 2018, 9,036 up on the same month of the previous year, which is an increase of 3.3% according to Eustat data. The number of visitors was up 5.3% in Bizkaia and 3.2% in Gipuzkoa, but there was a drop of 3.0% in Álava.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in October 2018 reached 564,848, which was an increase of 8.2% on October of the previous year, that is, there were 42,609 more overnight stays. In Bizkaia they were up by 8.4%, in Gipuzkoa by 8.0% and in Álava by 7.6%.

The number of visitors from within Spain rose by 0.3% in the Basque Country compared to October of the previous year, and the number of visitors from abroad increased by 7.6%. In the case of Álava, entries of Spanish visitors saw a 0.2% upturn and there was a 9.9% decrease in the case of foreign visitors. In Bizkaia, the number of Spanish visitors was up by 1.2%, while the number of visitors from abroad rose by 11.4%. In Gipuzkoa there was a decrease in Spanish visitor numbers of 0.9%, whereas the number of foreign visitors rose by 7.9%.

This October the average length of stay was 2.01 days, an improvement upon the 1.92 days average length of stay that was registered in October 2017. In Álava the average length of stay stood at 1.95 days, exceeding the1.76 days obtained in October 2017; in Bizkaia there was an increase from 1.93 days in October 2017 to 1.99 days this October, and in Gipuzkoa the average length of stay was up from 1.96 days in October 2017 to 2.06 this October.

There was an increase of 2.7 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 57.9% in October 2017 to 60.6% in October this year. In Álava the bed occupancy rate rose by 3.8 percentage points, standing at 55.3% in October 2018. In Bizkaia, the bed occupancy rate rose by 3.6 percentage points, reaching 62.6%. In Gipuzkoa the bed occupancy rate improved by 1.2 percentage points, standing at 60.2% in October 2018.

The occupancy rate per room also registered an increase, with a 3.9 percentage point rise for the Basque Country overall, reaching 74.2%. In Álava it was up by 5.5 percentage points, standing at 67.9%, and in Bizkaia it increased by 4.0 percentage points, reaching 77.6%. Meanwhile, in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 3.0 percentage points, registering 72.3% occupancy per room.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate in October 2018 was in Bilbao (69.8%), followed by San Sebastián (68.2%) and the metropolitan area of Bilbao (62.1%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in October 2018, with 73.6% of places occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 56.0% 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 90.3 euros in October 2018, 6.5% up on the year before. The average rate stood at 73.4 euros in Álava, where it fell by 3.4%; 87.7 euros in Bizkaia, with an increase of 12.6%, and 99.3 euros in Gipuzkoa, where it was up by 2.7%.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Basque Country overall, which is dependent on the occupancy rate of hotel establishments, stood at 66.9 euros in October 2018, a 12.4% increase on October 2017. The RevPAR stood at 49.8 euros in Álava, 68.1 euros in Bizkaia, and 71.8 euros in Gipuzkoa.

The occupancy rate per room during the "El Pilar" Bank Holiday was 86.1% in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country

In the Basque Country as a whole there were 34,258 visitors and 73,146 overnight stays during the 2018 "El Pilar" Bank Holiday, over the dates of 11 to 13 October (3 nights), with an occupancy rate per bed of 79.5% and per room of 86.1%. In Álava there were 4,980 visitors and 10,625 overnight stays in the three given days and bed and room occupancy rates reached 79.2% and 84.1% respectively. In Bizkaia there were 16,266 visitors and 33,653 overnight stays, with a room occupancy rate of 78.7% and a bed occupancy rate of 85.6%. In Gipuzkoa there were 13,012 visitors and 28,868 overnight stays, with a room occupancy rate of 80.6% and a bed occupancy rate of 87.5%.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers increased by 7.2% and overnight stays rose by 1.9% in October 2018

There were 14,430 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country this October, 7.2% more than the same month of the previous year. By province, in Bizkaia the number of visitors rose by 7.0%, in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 13.1%, and in Álava visitor numbers were down by 4.8%. The 2,662 visitors originating from abroad signified a rise of 0.2% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 18.4% of the total number of visitors. For their part, visitors from within Spain were up by 9.0%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 33,244 overnight stays in October, with an increase of 1.9% with respect to the same month of the previous year. At provincial level, in Gipuzkoa they increased by 13.7%, in Bizkaia they fell by 1.1% and in Álava they were down 19.0%.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 25.1%, which was down 0.1 percentage points from the figures obtained in October 2017. Álava recorded a drop of 4.7 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 20.0%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 24.4%, which meant a decrease of 1.4 percentage points in relation to October 2017, and Gipuzkoa saw a rise of 3.3 percentage points to reach an occupancy rate this October of 28.0%.

Finally, the average length of stay per visitor increased this October with respect to October 2017, going from 2.42 days a year ago to 2.30 this last month.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62