Press release 23/11/2020
The number of tourists at hotel establishments in the Basque Country fell by 63% in October 2020
The figures recorded in September fell and, in the case of foreign tourists, there was a drop of around 80%
The number of visitors registered at hotel establishments in the Basque Country in October, 109,393 people, dropped by 63.1% compared to same month of the previous year. The 209,716 overnight stays during October signified a year-on-year decrease of 63.6%. These figures represent a comparative deterioration with regard to the data observed in September, when 130,004 visitors and 249,794 overnight stays were recorded, comprising year-on-year decreases in September of 59% and 60.2%, respectively.
The crisis caused by COVID-19 continued to manifest itself in October with a major impact on the three provinces. In Bizkaia, visitor numbers in October 2020 fell by 68.8% on October 2019, in Gipuzkoa the decrease was 59.5% and, finally, the drop was 53.2% in Álava. In year-on-year terms, the number of overnight stays fell by 66.1% in Bizkaia, 64% in Gipuzkoa and 52.6% in Álava.
In October, hotel establishments in the Basque Country as a whole registered 83,006 visitors from Spain and 26,387 from abroad; 50.2% and 79.7% down on October 2019, respectively. Visitor numbers for those coming from abroad represented 24.1% of the total visitor numbers, whereas for the same month in 2019 this percentage rose to 43.8%.
This October the average length of stay was 1.92 days, below the average length of stay of 1.94 days observed in October 2019. Álava registered an increase from 1.87 days last year to 1.90 days in October this year; in Bizkaia the figure also increased from 1.92 days in October 2019 to 2.09 days in October 2020. Finally, in Gipuzkoa the average length of stay was down from 1.99 days in October 2019 to 1.77 days this October.
There was a decrease of 34.3 percentage points in the bed occupancy rate for the Basque Country overall, where it went from 59.8% in October 2019 to 25.5% in October this year. By province, bed occupancy rates stood at 31.0% for Álava, 24.0% for Bizkaia and 25.4% for Gipuzkoa, following year-on-year decreases of 22.2, 34.7 and 38 percentage points, respectively.
The room occupancy rate also registered a negative variation of 39.9 percentage points, standing at 33.3% for the Basque Country as a whole. By province, the values recorded were 41.5% for Álava, 32.5% in Bizkaia and 31,6% in Gipuzkoa.
In the Basque Country as a whole, a total of 501 hotel establishments were still operating in October of this year, 24 fewer than in the previous month, September 2020, and 75 fewer than the number open for at least one day in October 2019. On the other hand, the figure for establishments that were closed every day in October 2020 increased compared to the number of hotels that were also closed in September: 127 completely closed in October versus 96 in September 2020. In October 2019, however, 39 establishments were closed for the entire month.
The average daily rate (ADR) and hence the revenue per available room (RevPAR) are obtained using Big Data techniques as of October 2020
In October 2020, Eustat introduced advanced Big Data techniques into its processes for producing the ETR in order to obtain the average daily rate (ADR) and the derived variable, revenue per available room (RevPAR). The prices for each of the 120 previous days for every hotel establishment are captured from online booking platforms using web scraping technology. This information is combined with the directory of tourist establishments from the survey using approved statistical models with information sampled in previous years. For more information, the methodological document is available on the Eustat website.
With regards to the profitability indicators of the sector, the average daily rate (ADR) of hotels in the Basque Country stood at 69.2 euros in October 2020, down 26.5% on the year before. The average room rate was 66.5 euros in Álava, where it fell 8.4%, 63.6 euros in Bizkaia, a drop of 29.9%, and 77 euros in Gipuzkoa, down 26.8% compared to October 2019.
The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Basque Country overall, which is dependent on the occupancy rate of hotel establishments, stood at 23.1 euros in October 2020, 66.6% down on October 2019. The RevPAR was 27.6 euros in Álava, 20.7 euros in Bizkaia and 24.3 euros in Gipuzkoa, 45.1%, 68.6% and 69.4% lower than the same month in the previous year.
Rural accommodation
In October 2020, visitor numbers at rural accommodation in the Basque Country totalled 5,817, a year-on-year drop of 61.2%. Overnight stays, which numbered 14,238 people, fell by 53.9% compared to October 2019.
All three provinces saw significant drops. Visitor numbers were down by 74.7% in Álava, and by 64.8% and 52.0% in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, respectively. Overnight stays performed similarly, with negative variations of 60.6% in Álava, 65.2% in Bizkaia and 43.6% in Gipuzkoa.
The effect of the COVID-19 crisis in rural accommodation was similar to that observed in hotels. Thus, the establishments that offered accommodation in October totalled 356, compared to the 380 that were open in October 2019. Conversely, a total of 78 establishments remained closed during the entire period, as opposed to the 42 that were closed in October 2019.
Similarly, compared to the previous month, September 2020, a slight reduction in activity was observed, as there were 363 active accommodation establishments in that month as opposed to 356 recorded in October, whilst the number of closed establishments went from 66 in September to 78 in October.
Note: Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated with this survey for making this effort despite the extraordinary current circumstances. As a result, it has been possible to disseminate this information, enabling the effects on this sector of the measures adopted in order to combat COVID-19 to be quantified.
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