Press Release 22/09/2021

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Hotels. August 2021

In August 2021, overnight stays at hotels in the Basque Country were up 75.7% on the previous year and visitor numbers rose by 64.9%

Levels of visitor numbers, overnight stays and average daily rates exceeded those observed in August 2019

In August 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays recorded at hotel establishments in the Basque Country rose to 357,683 and 780,730, respectively, according to Eustat data. Visitor numbers had therefore recovered by 64.9% and overnight stays by 75.7% since August 2020. Furthermore, the figures for both visitor numbers (648 more visitors) and overnight stays (+461) for the Basque Country as a whole reached those registered in August 2019 and even slightly exceeded them, showing signs of recovery in the sector.

Compared to the previous month, July 2021, the number of visitors rose by 22.4% and overnight stays were up by 37.3%.

In Álava, there were 49,516 visitors and 98,125 overnight stays in August 2021; 72.2% and 84.8% more than in the same month of the previous year, respectively. In Bizkaia, visitor numbers increased by 93.1% and overnight stays were up 106.0% in August 2021, reaching a total of 159,937 and 353,108, respectively. Lastly, in Gipuzkoa, visitor numbers and overnight stays stood at 148,230 and 329,497 in August 2021, following a year-on-year rise of 40.6% in visitor numbers and 49.9% in overnight stays.

In relation to 2019, the number of visitors and overnight stays were higher in both Álava and Gipuzkoa, but not in Bizkaia. In Álava, there were 101 more visitors than in August 2019 and 399 more overnight stays were recorded. Gipuzkoa also surpassed pre-pandemic figures, with 13,243 more visitors and 11,521 more overnight stays this August compared to August 2019. Bizkaia, however, did not manage to reach previous figures, still registering 12,696 fewer visitors than in August 2019 and 11,459 fewer overnight stays.

In August 2021, visitors from abroad accounted for 31.2% of the total, hence the proportion of visitors from the rest of Spain was 68.8%. Likewise, in the case of overnight stays, people residing abroad accounted for 27.0% and people from the rest of Spain represented 73.0%. Both the number of visitors and overnight stays of people from abroad increased by 58.8% and 64.3%, respectively, compared to the same month of the previous year, although it was not enough to maintain the pattern seen in 2019, when foreign tourists accounted for 47.9%. Recovery was therefore based on the rise in the number of tourists from the rest of Spain: 32% more than in August 2019.

Differences were observed between the Provinces. In Bizkaia, the number of visitors from abroad rose by 111.0% with regard to 2020 and the number of overnight stays of people from abroad was up 118.7%. In Álava, the number of visitors and overnight stays of people from abroad increased in year-on-year terms by 59.2% and 59.1%, respectively. Lastly, the increases in respect of August 2020 in Gipuzkoa were less pronounced: 29.7% in the number of visitors from abroad and 35.4% in the number of overnight stays.

The average length of stay at hotels in the Basque Country during August stood at 2.18 days, slightly above the 2.05 days observed in August 2020 and almost the same as the 2.19 days in August 2019. The average length of stay of people from the rest of Spain was 2.32 days in August 2021, whereas in the same month of 2020 it stood at 2.15 days. In the case of people from abroad, the year-on-year comparison ranged between 1.89 and 1.83 days, respectively.

The bed and room occupancy rates of hotel establishments with business in August 2021 were both higher than those observed in the same month of the previous year. There was a 27.2 percentage point rise with regard to the bed occupancy rate, standing at 77%, and a 27.3 point increase in the room occupancy rate, reaching 82.6%. In both cases, the rates were close to those of August 2019 (79.6% and 84.9%, respectively), although they remained slightly below.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 82.5% in Gipuzkoa, 75.2% in Bizkaia and 67.9% in Álava. Likewise, the room occupancy rate rose to 86.6% in Gipuzkoa, 80.0% in Bizkaia and, lastly, 79.3% in Álava.

The provincial capital with the highest bed occupancy rate in August was San Sebastián (87.0%), followed by Bilbao (77.3%) and Vitoria-Gasteiz (66.2%). The room occupancy rate was also higher in San Sebastián (89.5%) than in Vitoria-Gasteiz (80.2%) and Bilbao (79.7%).

Profitability indicators of the sector maintained an upward trend. The average daily rate (ADR) was 123.29 euros in August, up 34.1% on that observed in August of the previous year and also above that registered in August 2019 (117.60 euros). All provinces saw an increase in the ADR, standing at 157.89 euros in Gipuzkoa (190.42 euros in San Sebastián), 98.57 euros in Álava (85.28 euros in Vitoria-Gasteiz) and 98.41 euros in Bizkaia (101.98 euros in Bilbao).

The higher occupancy rate and ADR led to a year-on-year rise in the revenue per available room (RevPAR) of 100.3%; the total for the Basque Country as a whole going from 50.80 euros in August 2020 to 101.77 euros in August 2021.

Compared to the previous month, July 2021, the ADR increased by 17.6% and the RevPAR rose by 52.9%.

The variation in the percentage of hotel establishments closed every day of the month shows that the impact on the hotel sector of the restrictions adopted to tackle COVID-19 is gradually lessening. In August 2021, 10.3% of hotel establishments in the Basque Country remained closed every day of the month, compared to 14.2% in August 2020. In July 2021, this percentage was also 10.3%.

By province, the percentage of hotel establishments that remained closed for the entire month of August 2021 stood at 13.3% in Álava, 10.0% in Bizkaia and 9.1% in Gipuzkoa.

Note. The coverage of the ETR for Hotels in August was 86.3%. 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: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62