Press release 19/12/2019

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. HOTELS AND RURAL ACCOMMODATION. NOVEMBER 2019

Visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country rose by 1.1% and overnight stays were down 1.3% in November 2019

The revenue per available room decreased by 2.1% in hotels in the Basque Country

There were 228,196 visitors registered in the hotel establishments of the Basque Country in November 2019, 2,405 up on the same month of the previous year, which was an increase of 1.1% according to Eustat data. By province, visitor numbers were up 2.6% in Gipuzkoa and 0.9% in Bizkaia, whereas in Álava they were down 2.4%.

Furthermore, overnight stays registered in hotel establishments of the Basque Country in November 2019 reached 435,322, which was a drop of 1.3% on those registered in November of the previous year, that is, there were 5,911 fewer overnight stays. There was a positive year-on-year trend in overnight stays in Álava, with an increase of 0.5%. On the other hand, in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, they decreased by 0.3% and 2.7% respectively.

The number of visitors from within Spain to the Basque Country registered a negative variation of 0.1% in November 2019 compared to November of the previous year. The number of visitors from abroad, rose by 3.7%. In the case of Álava, Spanish visitor numbers saw a 4.0% downturn, whereas foreign visitor numbers were up by 4.4%. In Bizkaia the number of Spanish visitors was up 0.8% and the number of visitors from abroad rose by 1.0%. Finally, in Gipuzkoa there was an increase in Spanish visitor numbers of 0.6% and the number of foreign visitors rose by 6.6%.

This November the average length of stay was 1.91 days, below the average length of stay of 1.95 days in November 2018. In Álava the average length of stay rose from 1.85 days last November to 1.91 days in November 2019, and in Bizkaia it fell from 1.95 days to 1.88 days. Finally, in Gipuzkoa the average length of stay was also down from 2 days in November 2018 to 1.94 days in November 2019.

There was a decrease of 1.8 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 50.2% in November 2018 to 48.5% in November this year. Álava experienced an increase of 0.5 percentage points, up from 45.7% to 46.2%. Bizkaia witnessed a fall of 4.4 percentage points, dropping from an occupancy rate of 52.4% in November 2018 to a rate of 48.0% this November. In Gipuzkoa the occupancy rate increased by 0.6 percentage points, rising from 49.4% in November of the previous year to 50.0% in November 2019.

The highest hotel bed occupancy rate this November was in Donostia-San Sebastián (56.5%), followed by Bilbao (53.2%) and Vitoria-Gasteiz (48.6%).

Taking into account the day of the week, at weekends there was a higher occupancy in the Basque Country as a whole in November 2019, with 62.4% of beds occupied, whilst the registered occupancy stood at 41.4% 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 80.5 euros in November 2019, 0.34% up on the year before. The average rate stood at 69.2 euros in Álava, where it was up 3.10%, in Bizkaia with an average rate of 80.3 euros, it was down 1.0%, and in Gipuzkoa, with an average daily rate (ADR) of 85.0 euros, the average rate increased by 1.28%.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Basque Country overall, which is dependent on the occupancy rate of hotel establishments, stood at 49.8 euros in November 2019, a 2.1% decrease on November 2018. The RevPAR stood at 41.5 euros in Álava, 50.2 euros in Bizkaia, and 52.2 euros in Gipuzkoa.

In rural accommodation, visitor numbers decreased by 17.2% and overnight stays fell by 19.1% in November 2019

There were 9,452 visitors to rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country in November, 17.2% down on the same month of the previous year. By province, in Álava the number of visitors decreased by 6.9%, in Bizkaia it was up 38.2%, and Gipuzkoa registered a fall of 5.7%. The 1,113 visitors originating from abroad signified a rise of 8.5% with regards to those received a year ago and represented 11.8% of the total number of visitors. For its part, the number of visitors from within Spain fell by 19.7%.

Rural tourism establishments and country cottages in the Basque Country recorded a total of 20,844 overnight stays in November 2018, which was a drop of 19.1% compared to the same month of the previous year. At a provincial level, in Álava they fell by 6.3%, in Bizkaia they were down by 38.6%, whilst in Gipuzkoa they decreased by 10.6%.

The bed occupancy rate in the Basque Country stood at 16.7%, 4.0 percentage points down on the figures obtained in November 2018. Álava also recorded a decrease of 2.0 percentage points, with a bed occupancy rate of 15.4%. In Bizkaia the occupancy rate was 15.0%, which meant a decrease of 7.3 percentage points in relation to November 2018, and Gipuzkoa saw a drop of 2.8 percentage points, posting an occupancy rate this November of 18.4%.

Lastly, the average length of stay per visitor has gone from 2.26 days in November 2018 to 2.21 days in this past month.

For further information:

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