Press release 25/09/2020

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. TOURIST APARTMENTS AND OTHER TOURIST ACCOMMODATION. AUGUST 2020

The balance for July and August 2020 in hotels, rural accommodation and apartments as a whole in the Basque Country showed the prolonged effect of the crisis

The loss of foreign visitors exacerbated the fall in tourism in July and August

In hotels, rural accommodation and apartments as a whole in the Basque Country, the balance for July and August 2020 showed the prolonged effect of the COVID-19 crisis on the sector following the two most important months of the summer, with a reduction of 40.7% in visitor numbers and of 44.2% in overnight stays, according to Eustat data.

In fact, although the August results were an improvement on the July figures, in both the number of open establishments, 981 in August compared to 949 in July, and the evolution of visitors and overnight stays, there was no significant change in the overall result. Thus, while in 2019 total visitor numbers over both months stood at 752,816 and overnight stays stood at 1,771,590, in the same summer months of 2020 there were only 446,465 visitors and 955,262 overnight stays.

Although the trend was negative for all territories, the extent varied: Gipuzkoa was the province that most resisted the trend, with a 25.2% reduction in visitor numbers and a 35% drop in overnight stays; in Álava visitor numbers fell by 42.5% and overnight stays dropped 44.3%; and lastly, Bizkaia saw the greatest decline, which was practically identical in both instances, with 53.2% for visitor numbers and 53.1% for overnight stays.

Almost three quarters (71.3%) of the 306,351 fewer visitors in July and August 2020 was due to the loss of visitors coming from abroad. Thus, if in both summer months as a whole in 2019 the number of visitors coming from outside Spain reached 355,838, in 2020 it reduced by 61.4%, standing at 137,365. In the case of tourists residing in Spain, visitor numbers were down only 22.1%, reaching 309,100, as compared to 396,978 in 2019. Meanwhile, there was a reduction of 66% in overnight stays of foreign residents, while the fall in overnight stays of tourists residing in Spain was 27.3%; thus, foreign tourism was responsible for 65.3% of the 756,327 fewer overnight stays recorded in the months of July and August 2020, compared to the same months of 2019.

In August 2020, the number of visitors in hotels, rural accommodation and apartments as a whole fell by 37.6% in year-on-year terms and overnight stays were down 40.7%

In August 2020, a total of 244,626 visitors were recorded, resulting in 543,081 overnight stays, 37.6% and 40.7% fewer than in August 2019.

The year-on-year trend varied across the provinces. In Gipuzkoa, where 48.6% of total visitors to the Basque Country were concentrated, the total number of visitors was down 21.2% in August 2020 compared to the same month of the previous year. In Bizkaia, which received 37.9% of visitors to the Basque Country, visitor numbers fell by 50.2%. In Álava, which accounted for 13.5% of visitors to the Basque Country, there was a decrease of 40.3%.

The trend in overnight stays was also uneven across the provinces. In Gipuzkoa, the number of overnight stays recorded in August 2020 was 30.0% lower than in the same month of the previous year. Álava saw a 42.4% drop and in Bizkaia it fell by 50.1%.

A gradual increase in tourist sector activity continued in August 2020, as the number of closed establishments went from 204 in July to 169 in August. Álava went from 42 closed establishments in July to 35 in August, Bizkaia went from 73 to 59 and, lastly, Gipuzkoa registered 75 closed establishments in August while in July there were 89.

The restrictions and conditions for the reopening to the public of tourist establishments under the order of 9 May (SDN/399/2020) to deal with the exceptional circumstances continued to have an impact on activity in the sector. In August 2019, 1,046 establishments were open compared to 981 in August 2020, and 70 establishments were closed compared to 169 this August.

Tourist apartments: further recovery in August with growth in tourism from the rest of Spain

In August, tourist apartments in the Basque Country as a whole recorded a total number of 9,304 visitors, resulting in 35,074 overnight stays. This was an increase of 17.1% compared to visitor numbers for July and 26.4% in terms of overnight stays. In year-on-year terms, however, there were decreases of 20.8% in visitor numbers and 20.9% in overnight stays.

By province, Álava recorded 1,263 visitors and 8,045 overnight stays, Bizkaia 4,644 visitors and 14,083 overnight stays and Gipuzkoa 3,396 visitors and 12,947 overnight stays. The year-on-year comparison, August 2020 compared to August 2019, showed decreases by province with slightly different values. The number of overnight stays in Álava were down 16.2%, and in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa they fell by 21.0% and 23.4%, respectively. In the case of visitor numbers, the values in year-on-year terms are as follows: Álava was down by 15.9%, Gipuzkoa dropped by 19.9% and Bizkaia saw a fall of 22.6%.

The average length of stay in tourist apartments in August 2020 was similar to that of August 2019, which was 3.77 days in both months. In Álava, it went from 6.39 to 6.37 days in August of 2020. In Gipuzkoa, it changed from 3.98 to 3.81 days and in Bizkaia, on the other hand, there was a slight increase from 2.97 in August 2019 to 3.03 in August 2020.

82.8% of visitors to tourist apartments in the Basque Country during August 2020 were from the rest of Spain, while those of foreign origin accounted for 17.2%. Compared with August 2019, the variation in visitor numbers was very uneven depending on origin, given that the number of visitors from abroad fell by 65.6%, while the number from the rest of Spain increased by 8.7%. The difference in the number of overnight stays was also significant, with a drop in foreign tourism of 58.8% in year-on-year terms compared with a moderate decline in tourism from the rest of Spain of 1.9%.

In the case of tourist apartments, the number of establishments with activity in August 2020 was greater than the number of establishments with activity in the same month of the previous year (90 in August 2020 compared to 80 in August 2019). By province, Álava recorded the same numbers of establishments with activity, 20, while in Bizkaia there were 4 more establishments with activity and in Gipuzkoa there were 6 more in August 2020 than in August of the previous year, with 30 and 40 establishments open, respectively.

Note: Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated in preparing this survey and for their effort despite the extraordinary circumstances. As a result, it has been possible to disseminate this information, enabling the effects of the measures adopted on this sector to be quantified.

For further information:

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