Press Release 21/10/2021

(This note has been revised to correct a bug in the summer 2021 special table)

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Hotels. September 2021

In September 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays at hotel establishments in the Basque Country more than doubled in relation to the previous year

During the summer as a whole (July, August and September), visitor numbers increased by 74.5% compared to summer 2020 and overnight stays were up 81.3%, although they did not reach the levels registered in summer 2019

In September 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays recorded at hotel establishments in the Basque Country rose to 269,420 and 526,927, respectively, according to Eustat data.

Visitor numbers had therefore recovered by 107.2% and overnight stays by 110.9% since September 2020. Compared to September 2019, however, the figures reached were lower: the number of visitors rose by 15.0% and overnight stays were up 16.1%.

In Álava, there were 34,413 visitors and 68,141 overnight stays in September, 90.2% and 98.9% more than in the same month of the previous year, respectively. In Bizkaia, visitor numbers increased by 143.5% and overnight stays were up 132.2% in September 2021, reaching a total of 121,024 and 230,460, respectively. Lastly, in Gipuzkoa, the number of visitors and overnight stays stood at 113,983 and 228,326 in September 2021, following a year-on-year rise of 83.2% in visitor numbers and 96.4% in overnight stays.

The average length of stay in September 2021 was 1.96 days, slightly higher than that obtained in the same month of 2020, which was 1.92 days, and very similar to that of September 2019, 1.98 days.

As regards the occupancy rates this September, figures for the Basque Country as a whole reached 54.7% in the case of beds and 65.1% in the case of rooms. Compared to September 2020, the increases stood at 24.7 and 26.6 percentage points, respectively.

Profitability, measured using the ADR or average daily rate, in the Basque Country as a whole reached 91.53 euros. At the provincial level, Gipuzkoa stood out with 110.86 euros, followed by Álava with 77.17 euros and Bizkaia with 77.09 euros. By provincial capitals, the ADR rose to 137.41 euros in Donostia-San Sebastián, 84.46 euros in Bilbao and 64.68 euros in Vitoria-Gasteiz. All these figures represent significant year-on-year increases, from 20.6% in Vitoria-Gasteiz to 37.3% in Bilbao.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) at the Basque Country level stood at 59.59 euros. In the case of Gipuzkoa, it reached 77.81 euros, in Álava it was 49.31 euros and in Bizkaia it stood at 47.14 euros. The percentage increase in respect of the same month of 2020 shows clear improvement in the sector, with year-on-year rises ranging from 156.9% in Bilbao to 71.9% in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Summer balance: July, August and September 2021

In summer 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays recorded were lower than the figures seen in summer 2019, prior to COVID-19, standing at -8.3% and -10.7%, respectively. In relation to summer 2020, which was marked by the measures adopted to combat the pandemic, the number of visitors was up by 74.5% and overnight stays rose by 81.3%.

People from abroad accounted for 33.5% of visitors in the summer months of 2021, compared to 30.5% in summer 2020. In summer 2019, however, visitors from abroad represented 49.7% of the total. Similar figures were seen in the case of overnight stays: foreign visitors accounted for 30.7% in summer 2021 and 27.9% in summer 2020, compared to 48.0% in the same period of 2019.

In Álava, the number of visitors increased by 84.0% with regard to 2020, which is a decrease of 3.6% compared to the same period of 2019. Overnight stays were up 89.4% on summer 2020, but down 5.3% in respect of 2019.

In Bizkaia, visitor numbers rose by 104.7% in relation to summer 2020 and there was an increase of 106.3% in overnight stays. In the comparison with 2019, the number of visitors fell by 15.4% and overnight stays saw a drop of 14.8%.

In Gipuzkoa, visitor numbers rose by 49.1% and overnight stays were up 59.7% compared to the same summer months of 2020. With regard to summer 2019, visitor numbers were down 1.1% and overnight stays fell by 7.8%.

The average length of stay at hotel establishments in the Basque Country during summer 2021 stood at 2.04 days, which was slightly above the 1.96 days observed in summer 2020, but lower than in summer 2019, when it reached 2.10 days.

Note. The coverage of the ETR for Hotels in September was 90.7%. 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