Press Release 24/09/2021

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Except hotels. August 2021

Visitor numbers at rural accommodation and tourist apartments in the Basque Country in August 2021 exceeded those recorded in the same month of 2019, prior to COVID-19

In relation to August 2020, visitor numbers were up 58.8% at rural accommodation and rose by 54.9% at tourist apartments

In August, rural accommodation in the Basque Country registered a total of 29,140 visitors and 90,259 overnight stays, representing increases in respect of the same month of the previous year of 58.8% and 41.6%, respectively, according to Eustat data. Figures therefore exceeded those obtained in August 2019 (before the outbreak of the pandemic). There was an increase of 23.8% in the number of visitors and the number of overnight stays in that period, which rose to 90,486, was almost the same.

The vast majority of people staying in rural accommodation in the Basque Country were from the rest of Spain: 26,069 visitors (89.5%) compared to 3,071 (10.5%) from abroad. In the case of overnight stays, a very similar distribution was seen: tourists from the rest of Spain accounted for 91% and people from abroad only represented 9%. In relation to August of the previous year, the number of visitors from the rest of Spain was up 58.1% and the number of visitors from abroad rose by 64.9%. The year-on-year rise in the number of overnight stays was 40.0% for people from the rest of Spain and 60.6% in the case of foreign visitors.

This distribution contrasts with that observed in August 2019, when people from abroad accounted for 21.9% of visitors and 18.9% of overnight stays.

Álava was the province where visitor numbers increased the most compared to August 2020, by 76.1%, followed by Bizkaia with 64.7%. In Gipuzkoa, for its part, visitor numbers were up 50.5%. The year-on-year trend in overnight stays was also positive in all three provinces: there was an increase of 47.4% in Álava, 42.8% in Bizkaia and 39.5% in Gipuzkoa.

Thus, visitor numbers in respect of August 2019 were up 19.6% in Álava, 16.3% in Bizkaia and 30.2% in Gipuzkoa. The comparison in terms of the total number of overnight stays differs slightly, as while they increased by 2.4% in Gipuzkoa, they were down 7.5% and 1.0% in Álava and Bizkaia, respectively.

The average length of stay was 3.10 days in August, slightly lower than the 3.47 days observed in the same month of the previous year and the 3.84 days in August 2019. Trends in average length of stay were homogenous across the provinces. In Álava, it went from 2.98 days in August 2020 to 2.49 days in August 2021; in Bizkaia it fell from 3.72 days a year ago to 3.22 days this August; and in Gipuzkoa, the average length of stay went from 3.49 days in August 2020 to 3.24 days this August.

The bed occupancy rate stood at 62.7% in August 2021, 13.9 percentage points higher than the previous year, although slightly lower than that observed in August 2019, which was 64.0%. By province, the occupancy rates were: 39.6% in Álava, 65.9% in Bizkaia and 71.8% in Gipuzkoa.

Likewise, following a year-on-year increase of 13.1 percentage points, the room occupancy rate in rural accommodation in the Basque Country in August reached 67.4% (it was 68.7% in August 2019). It stood at 45.9% in Álava, 70.2% in Bizkaia and 76.2% in Gipuzkoa.

In August 2021, 13.7% of rural accommodation establishments remained closed every day of the month in the Basque Country as a whole. This percentage was 16.1% in the same month of the previous year. By province, 14.4% of rural accommodation establishments in Álava were closed during August; in Bizkaia it was 10.9%; and, finally, in Gipuzkoa it was 15.0%.

TOURIST APARTMENTS

As regards tourist apartments, during August 2021, the number of visitors and overnight stays totalled 14,413 and 54,070, respectively. Compared to August of the previous year, visitor numbers rose by 54.9% and overnight stays were up 54.2%. If we set our reference point as August 2019, prior to COVID-19, both the number of visitors and overnight stays recorded at this type of establishment increased by 22.7% and 22.0%, respectively.

The number of visitors from within Spain was up 46.7% in year-on-year terms and foreign visitor numbers rose by 94.4%. In the case of overnight stays, there was an increase of 51.9% for visitors from within Spain and a rise of 65.0% for those from abroad.

In August 2019, 39.7% of visitors were from abroad compared to the 21.6% registered this month. As for overnight stays, those by visitors from abroad went from accounting for 33.3% in 2019 to 18.6% this August.

In Álava, visitor numbers were up 22.7% in year-on-year terms and overnight stays rose by 19.4%. In Bizkaia, the number of visitors increased by 79.7% and overnight stays by 70.6% and, lastly, in Gipuzkoa, visitor numbers were up by 33.0% and overnight stays by 57.8%.

The average length of stay at tourist apartments in August 2021 stood at 3.75 days, slightly below the average of 3.77 days observed in both August 2020 and August 2019.

The average length of stay at tourist apartments in August varied across the provinces. In Gipuzkoa, the average length of stay rose from 3.81 days in August 2020 to 4.52 days in August 2021, whereas in Álava it was down from 6.37 days to 6.20 days and in Bizkaia it fell from 3.03 days to 2.88 days.

In August 2021, the apartment occupancy rate in the Basque Country stood at 59.1%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 4.6 percentage points and a drop of 19.5 points compared to August 2019. By province, the apartment occupancy rate was 79.8% in Bizkaia, 66.5% in Álava and 44.4% in Gipuzkoa.

The bed occupancy rate rose by 9.5 percentage points in year-on-year terms, standing at 47.5% for the Basque Country as a whole (in August 2019 it was 51.7%). This rate was 57.6% in Bizkaia, 47.3% in Gipuzkoa and, lastly, 33.4% in Álava.

In the Basque Country as a whole, 11.6% of apartments remained closed every day in August 2021, a slightly lower percentage than in the same month of the previous year (11.8%). The proportion of apartments closed every day of the month stood at 16.7% in Álava, 10.3% in Bizkaia and 10.3% in Gipuzkoa.

Informative note

The response rate of the Survey on Tourist Establishments in August 2021 was 89.7% for Rural Accommodation and 78.5% 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