Press Release 24/03/2021

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Except hotels. FEBRUARY 2021

Visitors at rural accommodation in the Basque Country fell by 85.3% in February 2021 and were down 71% at tourist apartments

February 2021 saw 31.1% of rural accommodation establishments remain closed every day of the month, with this figure standing at 25% for tourist apartments.

In February 2021, there were 1,018 visitors and 4,546 overnight stays at rural accommodation in the Basque Country, a drop of 85.3% and 69.4% on February 2020, respectively, according to Eustat data.

The majority of people staying at rural accommodation were from the rest of Spain, accounting for 92.1% of the total. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the falls in visitor numbers were noteworthy both for people from the rest of Spain and those from abroad, at 84.4% and 91.5%, respectively. As for overnight stays, among people from the rest of Spain there was a fall year-on-year terms by 68.4% in February 2021, whereas among people from abroad the decrease was 77.2%.

The province where visitor numbers dropped the most was Álava, down 90.9% February 2020, followed by Gipuzkoa with a year-on-year decrease of 85.8%. Lastly, in Bizkaia, in February of this year visitor numbers were down 80.4% compared to the same month last year. As regards the number of overnight stays February 2021, Álava recorded the largest year-on-year downturn, at 72.8%. There were decreases of 71.9% in Gipuzkoa and 60.7% in Bizkaia.

The average length of stay of 4.47 days at rural accommodation in the Basque Country as a whole was significantly higher in February 2021 than in February 2020 (2.14 days).

In the province of Álava, the difference was even greater, given that in February of this year the average stay was 5.49 days, whereas in February of last year it was 1.83 days. This figure also increased significantly in Bizkaia, where it went from 1.96 days in February 2020 to 3.93 days in February 2021. Gipuzkoa followed the same upward trend, going from 2.32 days in February 2020 to 4.59 days this February.

In February 2021, the bed and room occupation rates in the Basque Country as a whole were both very low, at 4.6% and 7.4% respectively. In year-on-year terms, the decreases stood 9.7 and 11.1 percentage points, respectively.

In February 2021, 31.1% of rural accommodation establishments remained closed every day of the month, compared to 23.7% in February of last year. The largest proportion of closed rural accommodation establishments was recorded in Bizkaia, with 35.9%, whereas the proportions in Álava and Gipuzkoa were 33% and 27%, respectively.

TOURIST APARTMENTS

As regards tourist apartments during February 2021, visitor numbers and overnight stays totalled 1,537 and 14,424, respectively. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the fall in visitor numbers stood at 71%, while the number of overnight stays dropped by 25.4%.

Visitors from within Spain fell by 65.8%, while foreign visitors were down 86.9%. In the case of overnight stays, visitors from within Spain decreased by 18.8% and foreign visitors fell by 42.6%.

By province the trend was not uniform. In Álava, visitor numbers at tourist apartments fell by 47.5% and overnight stays by 34.2%, compared to February 2020. Bizkaia registered a 72.7% drop in visitor numbers and a decrease of 52.3% in overnight stays, in year-on-year terms. Lastly, Gipuzkoa saw a different trend, given that while visitor numbers dropped by 75.8%, overnight stays increased by 14%.

The average length of stay in tourist apartments in the Basque Country rose to 9.38 days in February 2021, clearly exceeding the average of 3.64 days in February 2020.

By province, Gipuzkoa stood out with the highest average length of stay, reaching 14.18 days in February 2021 (it was 3.01 days in February 2020). It was followed by Álava, with an average length of stay of 12.45 days, above the 9.93 days in February 2020 and, finally, Bizkaia, where the average length of stay was 4.71 days in February 2021, higher than the 2.69 days observed in February 2020.

The apartment occupancy rate in the Basque Country in February 2021, following a year-on-year decrease of 18.6 percentage points, stood at 38.0%. By province, in Álava it reached 48.4% (16.7 percentage points less than in February 2020); in Bizkaia it stood at 27.6% (following a drop of 23.7 percentage points); and, finally, in Gipuzkoa the apartment occupancy rate stood at 39.0% (14.4 percentage points down on the same month of the previous year).

In the Basque Country as a whole, 25.0% of apartments remained closed every day in February 2021, 3.7 percentage points more than in February 2020. The proportion of apartments closed for the entire month stood at 30.8% in Gipuzkoa, 21.7% in Álava and 18.2% in Bizkaia. In the latter province, the proportion of closed apartments was lower than in February 2020.

Informative note

Eustat would once again 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, with coverage of 98.6% in the case of rural accommodation and 92.6% for tourist apartments, 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