Press release 23/01/2023

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Hotels. December 2022

Visitor numbers and overnight stays at hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by more than 50% in 2022 compared to 2021

In December 2022, visitor numbers rose by 31.8% and overnight stays were up 30.7% in relation to December 2021

In 2022 as a whole, the total number of visitors at hotel establishments in the Basque Country rose to 3,340,493 and there were 6,442,631 overnight stays, according to Eustat data. Compared to 2021 as a whole, there was a 53.7% increase in the case of visitor numbers and 54.2% in that of overnight stays.

At provincial level, the number of visitors at hotel establishments in Álava over the course of 2022 rose to 452,766, 13.6% of the total for the Basque Country, which led to 844,546 overnight stays, 13.1% of the total. Bizkaia accounted for 45.3% of visitor numbers (1,513,570) and 44.9% of overnight stays (2,893,131). Gipuzkoa, with 41.1% of visitors, contributed 1,374,157 to the overall figure, and the 2,704,954 overnight stays comprised 42.0% of the total.

These figures represented year-on-year growth in the number of visitors of 43.5% in Álava, 51.8% in Gipuzkoa and 59.0% in Bizkaia. Overnight stays performed similarly in 2022, with increases in respect of the previous year of 38.4% in Álava, 55.8% in Gipuzkoa and 57.9% in Bizkaia. Of particular note were the rises in foreign visitor numbers and overnight stays in the Basque Country, standing at 119.6% and 132.4%, respectively.

The three provincial capitals performed better than the rest of the corresponding province, with year-on-year increases in the total number of visitors throughout the year of 46.5% in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 55.9% in San Sebastián and 64.4% in Bilbao. Likewise, in the case of overnight stays, the year-on-year rises stood at 40.7% in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 62.7% in San Sebastián and 66.0% in Bilbao.

The average length of stay in 2022 was 1.93 days in the Basque Country as a whole, slightly better than that observed in the previous year, which was 1.92 days. In the case of Álava, this figure stood at 1.87 days compared to 1.93 in 2021. In Bizkaia, it was 1.91 days, very similar to the 1.92 days obtained in 2021 and, lastly, in Gipuzkoa, it stood at 1.97 days compared to 1.92 in the previous year.

In 2022, occupancy rates at hotel establishments for the Basque Country as a whole were 53.9% in the case of beds and 63.5% in that of rooms. In relation to 2021, the bed occupancy rate saw a rise of 12.9 percentage points and the room occupancy rate was up 14.7 points.

With regard to profitability indicators, 2022 closed with an ADR of 98.73 euros for the Basque Country as a whole and a RevPar of 62.71 euros, 16.8% and 52.0% more than the previous year.

In December 2022, visitor numbers at hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 31.8% and overnight stays were up 30.7% in year-on-year terms. The total number of visitors, which rose to 239,673, led to a total of 440,180 overnight stays.

Foreign visitors accounted for 28.9% of the total number of visitors and 29.1% of overnight stays in December 2022, similar percentages to those recorded in December 2021, when visitors and overnight stays from abroad represented 27.7% and 27.2%, respectively. The number of visitors and overnight stays from the rest of Spain increased in year-on-year terms by 29.5% and 27.2%, respectively.

In Álava, there were 37,472 visitors and 67,985 overnight stays, 37.9% and 30.2% more than in December the previous year. In Bizkaia, growth reached 31.5% in the case of visitors and 28.9% in that of overnight stays, with a total of 110,040 visitors and 202,744 overnight stays. In Gipuzkoa, 92,161 visitors were recorded in the last month of 2022 (29.8% more than in December 2021) and there were 169,451 overnight stays (33.0% more than the same month of the previous year).

By provincial capital, visitor numbers rose by 43.2% in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 37.1% in Bilbao and 31.7% in San Sebastián. Likewise, the increase in overnight stays compared to the previous December reached 33.8% in Vitoria-Gasteiz and 35.3% in both Bilbao and San Sebastián.

The average length of stay in December 2022 was 1.84 days in the Basque Country as a whole, very similar to that obtained in the same month of 2021, which was 1.85 days.

Occupancy rates in December 2022 for the Basque Country as a whole stood at 44.2% for beds and 50.8% for rooms. Compared to December 2021, this was an increase of 8.0 and 8.2 percentage points, respectively.

Profitability, measured using the ADR or average daily rate, reached 79.40 euros in December 2022 in the Basque Country as a whole, which was a rise of 7.5% compared to December of the previous year. In the case of Gipuzkoa, the ADR reached 83.50 euros, in Bizkaia it was 78.45 euros and in Álava it stood at 72.23 euros. By provincial capital, the differences were greater, given that the ADR was 92.47 euros in San Sebastián, 83.75 euros in Bilbao and, lastly, 65.08 euros in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The RevPar, or average revenue per available room, was 40.34 euros in the Basque Country in December 2022, 28.2% higher than in the same month of the previous year.

Informative note

The coverage of the ETR for Hotels in December 2022 was 79.7%. Eustat would like to thank all establishments that participated in this survey for their effort.

Data browser for tourism in the Basque Country.Hotel establishments

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