Press Release 29/06/2023

SERVICES SURVEY. HOSPITALITY. 2021

The turnover of the Hospitality sector in the Basque Country grew by 33.9% in 2021, but did not regain pre-pandemic levels

The result for the financial year, however, was the highest in the entire historical series

In 2021 the Hospitality sector in the Basque Country, which includes companies offering accommodation services and those that offer food and drink services, saw 33.9% growth in turnover, according to Eustat data.

Although this figure represents a significant relative increase, the hospitality sector’s turnover of 3,175 million euros in 2021 was still far from the 4,510 million euros achieved in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, of the 2,139 million euros lost as a result of the pandemic, 804 million was recovered.

The Basque Hospitality sector employed 59,144 people in 13,410 establishments in 2021, amounting to a 2.3% drop in the number of people working and a 0.8% decrease in the number of establishments, compared to the 2020 figures. In absolute terms, this meant a reduction of 1,375 jobs and 113 establishments which, added to those recorded in 2020, the year of the pandemic, represented a loss of 2.2% of establishments and 7.7% of employment, compared to 2019.

However, hospitality ended 2021 with the best financial year result in the available historical series. Indeed, the 239.5 million surplus not only returned this indicator to positive figures, but also made it by far the best year ever recorded, substantially above 2017, which until now held first place with a positive result of 195.1 million euros for the financial year.

This result is mainly due to restraint across expenditure items, particularly supplies and personnel. Although personnel expenditure rose by 14.4% last year, it is still at a level 34.8% lower than in 2019. Similarly, supplies grew by 31.6% in 2021, but they were still 25% lower than two years earlier.

It is also worth noting the trend in gross value added at factor cost - which represents the wealth generated and is equivalent to gross output minus intermediate consumption after adjustment for subsidies and indirect taxes - as this rose by 48.3% in just one year; however, it was 28.8% lower than the figure for 2019.

Source: Eustat. Services survey

Period availables 20132014201520162017201920202021

Source: Eustat. Services survey

Period availables 20132014201520162017201920202021

Within Hospitality, the Food & Drink division, which in turn includes the sub–sectors of Restaurants, Other food services and Drinks establishments, predominated, accounting for 89.8% of establishments, 89.5% of employment and a similar proportion of turnover, 86.7%.

In 2021, its turnover reached 2,754 million euros, an increase of 30.9% on the 2020 figure. Conversely, employment fell by 2.5%, a loss of 1,300 jobs, with a total of 52,924 people working in this division in 2021. There was also a reduction in the number of establishments, albeit to a lesser extent, specifically 113 fewer establishments.

Although it reduced in size, the Food and drinks division was able to end the year with a positive result: 210.6 million euros, well above the result of 143 million for 2017, the highest figure until now.

An analysis of the results at a more disaggregated level of activity reveals that Restaurants, the most significant sub-sector, saw a positive variation of 33.4% in turnover, maintaining employment (+0.5%) and even increasing the number of establishments (+3.0%).

The other two sub-sectors in this division recorded new reductions in employment and the number of establishments. This decline meant a drop of 2.8% in the number of establishments and 3.4% in employment in the case of the Drinks establishments sub-sector. The decrease was more accentuated in the Other food services sub-sector, including catering, where the number of people employed fell by almost 8% and the number of establishments dropped by 4%. By contrast, turnover rose by 31% for Drinks establishments and by 21.1% for Other food services.

More striking was the upturn in the Accommodation services division, comprising the Hotels and Other accommodation sub-sectors, which was hit even harder than Food and drink services by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 saw a consolidation of its employment figures, over 6,200 people (-0.7%), and the number of establishments, above 1,370 (+0.4%). Turnover regained 153.9 million euros and comfortably exceeded 400 million euros (421.3 million), representing an increase of 57.6% in 2021.

Positive trend in economic indicators in the three provinces, albeit to varying degrees

All three provinces performed positively in the figures for the 2021 financial year. Compared to 2020, hospitality turnover rose by 26.7% in Álava, 31% in Bizkaia and as much as 40.7% in Gipuzkoa. The results for added value are even more striking, with an increase of 37.6% for Álava, 44% for Bizkaia and 58.5% in the case of Gipuzkoa.

Consequently, the result for the 2021 financial year is positive with 27.5 million in Álava, 103.2 million in Bizkaia and 108.7 million in Gipuzkoa. While in 2020 all three provinces recorded yearly results in deficit for the first time, in 2021, by contrast, all three registered the highest yearly results in the available historical series. This was the case despite significant reductions in employment, ranging from 2.1% in Bizkaia to 2.6% in Álava, with 2.4% in Gipuzkoa. In addition, there were 1.6% fewer establishments in Álava and 1.2% in Bizkaia; in Gipuzkoa, for its part, the figure remained virtually unchanged (0.1%).

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