Press release 27/07/2021

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Except hotels. JUNE 2021

In June 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays in rural accommodation in the Basque Country more than doubled in relation to May

Visitor numbers at tourist apartments rose by 50.2% and overnight stays were up 13.6%

In June 2021, there were a total of 10,393 visitors and 23,947 overnight stays in rural accommodation in the Basque Country, representing increases in respect of May 2021 of 125.7% and 113.3%, respectively, according to Eustat data.

Movement restrictions have been variable after the state of emergency was decreed on 14 March 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. June 2020 saw a partial revival of this sector, but in no case did it reach the figures for June recorded in previous years. Furthermore, mobility of people in the Basque Country resumed after the third state of emergency was lifted on 9 May 2021. Given the aforementioned conditions, figures are generally compared with the previous month, May 2021.

The vast majority of people staying in rural accommodation in the Basque Country were from the rest of Spain: 9,669 visitors compared to 724 from abroad. In relation to the previous month, May 2021, the number of visitors from the rest of Spain was up by 124.3% and the number of visitors from abroad rose by 147.1%. In the case of overnight stays, the differences in month-on-month terms were as follows: visitors from within Spain increased by 116.6% and foreign visitors were up by 73.9%.

At geographical level, Gipuzkoa saw the largest increase in visitors, with an upturn of 149.3%, followed by Álava with 101.8%. In Bizkaia, visitor numbers rose by 98.5%. Furthermore, the number of overnight stays saw an upward trend in month-on-month terms: it increased by 123.1% in Gipuzkoa, 93.6% in Bizkaia and 112.9% in Álava.

The year-on-year comparison, June 2021 in relation to June 2020, revealed that the total number of visitors registered at rural accommodation in the Basque Country was up by 105.3% and overnight stays rose by 61.3%. The year-on-year increase in visitor numbers ranged from 73.7% in Bizkaia to 122.5% in Gipuzkoa, and 106.0% in Álava. Overnight stays followed this trend with increases of 29.7% for Bizkaia, 39.8% for Álava and 89.3% in the case of Gipuzkoa.

By origin and compared to June of the previous year, the number of Spanish visitors rose by 97.2% and those from abroad by 355.3%. In the case of overnight stays, there was an increase of 63.9% for visitors from within Spain and of 30.6% for those from abroad.

The average length of stay observed in June 2021 reached 2.30 days, as compared to 2.44 days in the previous month and 2.93 days in June 2020. If we look at the average length of stay at the provincial level, it was 2.22 days in Álava (2.10 in May 2021); 2.31 in Bizkaia (slightly less than the 2.36 days registered in May) and 2.33 days in Gipuzkoa (down from the 2.60 days calculated in May).

The room occupancy rate stood at 22.6% in June, registering an increase in respect of the previous month of 10.1 percentage points. By province, the occupancy rates were: 15.9% in Álava, 20.3% in Bizkaia and 27.4% in Gipuzkoa. Likewise, following a month-on-month increase of 10.0 percentage points, the bed occupancy rate in rural accommodation in the Basque Country in June stood at 19.0%. It was 13.2% in Álava, 16.5% in Bizkaia and 23.4% in Gipuzkoa.

In year-on year terms, June on June, occupancy rates have managed to hold steady with regard to rooms (-0.1 percentage points) and there was even a moderate rise with regard to beds (1.6 percentage points).

In June 2021, 18.1% of rural accommodation remained closed every day of the month, slightly lower than in May (19.5%), but significantly less than the 33.4% recorded in June 2020. By province, 18.2% of rural establishments were closed for the whole month of June in Álava, 17.2% in Bizkaia and, lastly, 18.5% in Gipuzkoa.

TOURIST APARTMENTS

As regards tourist apartments, during June 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays totalled 6,062 and 23,910, respectively. Compared to the previous month, there was a 50.2% rise in visitor numbers and overnight stays increased by 13.6%.

The number of visitors from within Spain was up 53.1% in month-on-month terms and foreign visitor numbers rose by 33.7%. In the case of overnight stays, there was an increase of 14.3% for visitors from within Spain and of 10.8% for those from abroad.

By province, performance in relation to May 2021 was uneven. Gipuzkoa saw an increase in visitor numbers of 74.2%, in Álava the rise stood at 45.7% and in Bizkaia it was 35.7%. The total number of overnight stays recorded in June 2021 was higher than the number in May, up 8.6% in Álava and 11.1% in Gipuzkoa. In Bizkaia, the increase reached 22.7%.

If we focus on the year-on-year performance, it can be observed that the rise in both visitor numbers and overnight stays was similar: 112.4% for the former and 116.9% for the latter. By province, the breakdown of the year-on-year variation is as follows: in Álava, visitor numbers were up by 11.2% and overnight stays by 28.3%; in Bizkaia, following the same order, the rates were 118.4% and 85.5%; lastly, in Gipuzkoa, the province that experienced the greatest increases, visitor numbers rose by 175.6% and overnight stays by 299.6%, all in relation to June 2020.

The average length of stay at tourist apartments in June stood at 3.94 days, less than the 5.22 days observed in the previous month, but similar to the 3.86 days calculated in June 2020.

Within this downward trend in the average length of stay in the last month, the provincial performance was disparate: in Álava it went from 10.97 days in May to 8.17 days in June; in Bizkaia it fell slightly (2.63 days in May and 2.37 days in June), and in Gipuzkoa, the difference went from 7.23 days in May to 4.61 days in June.

In June 2021, the apartment occupancy rate in the Basque Country stood at 43.2%. By province, it rose to 51.8% in Álava, 42.8% in Gipuzkoa and in Bizkaia it was 37.2%.

The bed occupancy rate was lower, at only 23.2% for the Basque Country as a whole. By province, this rate was 27.4% in Gipuzkoa, 20.9% in Álava and, lastly, 20.0% in Bizkaia.

In the Basque Country as a whole, 16.7% of apartments remained closed every day in June 2021, 1.2 percentage points more than in the previous month. The proportion of apartments closed every day of the month stood at 16.7% in Álava (the same as in May), 17.9% in Gipuzkoa (1.8 percentage points higher than in May) and, lastly, 14.7% in Bizkaia (0.5 percentage points lower than the proportion observed in May).

Informative note

The response rate of the Survey on Tourist Establishments in June was 96.8% for Rural Accommodation and 87.7% for Tourist Apartments. Eustat would like to thank all establishments that participated in this survey for their effort.

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