Press release 28/12/2020

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

In November the number of tourist establishments closed in the Basque Country reached 34% of the total, 15.2 percentage points more than in October

The decreases registered in both visitor numbers and overnight stays were about 80% in tourist establishments included in the survey as a whole

During November 2020, 34% of tourist establishments (hotels, rural accommodation and tourist apartments) remained closed for the entire month, according to Eustat data. There was a similar evolution by province, representing 35.4% in the case of Gipuzkoa, 34.2% in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa and 29.4% in Álava

As regards registered visitors and overnight stays, in November 2020 both were down in relation to the same period of the previous year by 82.1% and 77.6%, respectively.

By province, in November the greatest year-on-year decrease was posted in Gipuzkoa, where, in comparison with November 2019, visitor numbers were down 84.4% and overnight stays fell by 82.8%. Bizkaia registered an 82.2% drop in visitor numbers and a decrease of 76.8% in overnight stays. Álava was the province that posted the lowest decreases in the year-on-year comparison, visitor numbers falling by 75.5% and overnight stays dropping by 66.3%.

The bed occupancy rate dropped from the 43.2% observed in November 2019 to 12.7% in November 2020, down 30.5 percentage points. As regards the average length of day, in contrast, we see that it rose in respect of November 2019, going from 1.96 days to the current 2.46 days.

In November 2020, visitors to tourist apartments in the Basque Country were down 73.1% and overnight stays fell by 36.4%

As regards tourist apartments, during November 2020 visitor numbers and overnight stays totalled 1,601 and 13,618, respectively. These figures represent a reduction of 73.1% for visitor numbers and 36.4% for overnight stays, compared to November 2019. Visitors from within Spain fell by 69.6% and foreign visitors were down 85.6%. In the case of overnight stays, visitors from within Spain decreased by 36.2% and foreign visitors fell by 37%.

By province the trend was not uniform. In Álava, visitor numbers were down by 49.5% and overnight stays by 19.9% in relation to November 2019. In Bizkaia the year-on-year decrease was 74.7% in visitor numbers and 41.3% in overnight stays; and, finally, in Gipuzkoa, visitor numbers fell by 80.2% and overnights stays by 46.4%.

The average length of stay in tourist apartments in the Basque Country rose to 8.51 days in November 2020, exceeding the average of 3.59 days in November 2019.

By province, Álava stood out with the highest average length of stay, reaching 12.38 days in November 2020 (it was 7.81 days in November 2019). It was followed by Gipuzkoa, with an average length of stay of 8.64 days (3.19 days in the same month of the previous year) and, finally, Bizkaia, where the average length of stay was 6.16 days in November 2020, higher than the 2.66 days observed in November 2019.

The apartment occupancy rate in the Basque Country during November 2020, following a year-on-year decrease of 24.1 percentage points, stood at 32.9%. By province, in Álava it reached 59.4% (5 points below that of November 2019); in Bizkaia it stood at 37.2% (following a drop of 14.6 percentage points); and, finally, in Gipuzkoa the apartment occupancy rate dropped to 19.5% (35 percentage points down on the same month of the previous year).

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: Tel: 945 01 75 62