Press Release 22/08/2023
SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Except hotels. July 2023
Overnight stays rose by 1.6% in rural accommodation and were up 20.9% in tourist apartments in the Basque Country in July 2023
In contrast, overnight stays in tourist hostels were down 7.5% in respect of the same month of the previous year
Visitor numbers in rural accommodation in the Basque Country fell by 3.8% in July 2023 in respect of the same month of the previous year, whereas overnight stays rose by 1.6%, according to Eustat data. With these year-on-year variations, in July 2023 the number of visitors reached 23,465 and the number of overnight stays stood at 73,160.
Visitors, overnight stays, average length of stay and bed occupancy rates in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country. July 2023
| | Visitors | Overnight stays | Average stay | Occupancy rates (%) |
| | | by seats | by rooms |
| | 07/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 07/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 07/2023 | 07/2022 | 07/2023 | p.p. * | 07/2023 | p.p. * |
| BASQUE COUNTRY | 23.465 | -3,8 | 73.160 | 1,6 | 3,12 | 2,95 | 50,1 | 1,4 | 54,7 | 1,6 |
| State origin | 16.371 | -4,7 | 52.192 | 0,4 | 3,19 | 3,03 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 7.094 | -1,6 | 20.968 | 4,7 | 2,96 | 2,78 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Araba/Álava | 3.436 | -16,1 | 8.385 | -8,0 | 2,44 | 2,22 | 24,2 | -2,4 | 28,7 | -2,2 |
| State origin | 2.755 | -9,9 | 6.675 | 1,1 | 2,42 | 2,16 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 681 | -34,5 | 1.710 | -31,8 | 2,51 | 2,41 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bizkaia | 8.031 | -11,6 | 23.687 | 1,5 | 2,95 | 2,57 | 53,9 | 0,7 | 57,3 | 1,7 |
| State origin | 5.761 | -9,1 | 16.935 | 3,0 | 2,94 | 2,59 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 2.270 | -17,5 | 6.752 | -2,1 | 2,97 | 2,51 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gipuzkoa | 11.998 | 7,1 | 41.088 | 3,8 | 3,42 | 3,53 | 60,9 | 4,2 | 66,3 | 3,8 |
| State origin | 7.855 | 1,0 | 28.582 | -1,3 | 3,64 | 3,72 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 4.143 | 21,1 | 12.506 | 17,7 | 3,02 | 3,11 | - | - | - | - |
p.p.*= difference in percentage points on the same month of the previous year
m/m12 Rate of year-on-year change in the last observed month (m) compared to the same month of the previous year (m-12)
Date August 22, 2023
Source: Eustat Tourist accommodating establishments survey
After falling by 1.6% in relation to July of the previous year, visitors from abroad accounted for 30.2% of the total number of visitors in July 2023 in rural accommodation in the Basque Country. As regards overnight stays, those by visitors from abroad represented 28.7% of the total, following an increase of 4.7% compared to July 2022.
By province, there was a year-on-year decrease in visitor numbers in July of 16.1% in Álava and 11.6% in Bizkaia. In Gipuzkoa, however, there was a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. Overnight stays were down 8.0% in Álava, while they rose by 1.5% in Bizkaia and 3.8% in Gipuzkoa.
The average length of stay in this type of establishment in the Basque Country was 3.12 days during the month of July, above the 2.95 days average length of stay observed in the same month of 2022. The average length of stay refers to the number of days that, on average, travellers remain in each of the establishments where they stay overnight, and not the total length of their stay in the Basque Country.
Bed and room occupancy rates experienced a year-on-year increase of 1.4 and 1.6 percentage points respectively, the bed occupancy rate standing at 50.1% and that of rooms at 54.7%.
In relation to tourist apartments, in July 2023 there was a total of 24,428 visitors, giving rise to 73,108 overnight stays. Compared to July of the previous year, there was a 28.1% increase in the case of visitor numbers and 20.9% in that of overnight stays.
Each of the accommodation units offered under a business operating unit, managed under the block or combined mode, is referred to as a tourist apartment. Private dwellings offered, marketed or temporarily relinquished for reasons of tourism are not included under the heading of dwellings for tourism use.
Visitors, overnight stays, average length of stay and bed occupancy rates in tourist apartments of the Basque Country. July 2023
| | Visitors | Overnight stays | Average stay | Occupancy rates (%) |
| | | by seats | by apartaments |
| | 07/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 07/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 07/2023 | 07/2022 | 07/2023 | p.p. * | 07/2023 | p.p. * |
| BASQUE COUNTRY | 24.428 | 28,1 | 73.108 | 20,9 | 2,99 | 3,17 | 50,0 | 4,2 | 67,1 | 4,4 |
| State origin | 13.552 | 26,9 | 41.029 | 15,0 | 3,03 | 3,34 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 10.876 | 29,6 | 32.079 | 29,5 | 2,95 | 2,95 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Araba/Álava | 2.009 | 19,1 | 9.273 | -5,8 | 4,62 | 5,84 | 28,5 | -0,8 | 66,8 | -7,8 |
| State origin | 1.542 | 20,6 | 7.115 | -7,9 | 4,61 | 6,04 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 467 | 14,4 | 2.158 | 1,9 | 4,62 | 5,19 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bizkaia | 14.877 | 24,1 | 34.933 | 19,6 | 2,35 | 2,44 | 57,8 | 5,1 | 68,5 | 7,7 |
| State origin | 8.333 | 25,8 | 19.697 | 21,3 | 2,36 | 2,45 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 6.544 | 21,9 | 15.236 | 17,4 | 2,33 | 2,42 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gipuzkoa | 7.542 | 39,9 | 28.902 | 35,1 | 3,83 | 3,97 | 54,1 | 4,4 | 65,9 | 7,2 |
| State origin | 3.677 | 32,7 | 14.218 | 21,4 | 3,87 | 4,23 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 3.865 | 47,6 | 14.685 | 51,8 | 3,80 | 3,69 | - | - | - | - |
p.p.*= difference in percentage points on the same month of the previous year
m/m12 Rate of year-on-year change in the last observed month (m) compared to the same month of the previous year (m-12)
Date August 22, 2023
Source: Eustat Tourist accommodating establishments survey
Visitors from abroad accounted for 44.5% of the total number of visitors and 43.9% of the total number of overnight stays in tourist apartments in the Basque Country, after registering year-on-year increases of 29.6% and 29.5%, respectively, during July 2023.
The average length of stay in tourist apartments was 2.99 days in July 2023, below that obtained in July 2022, which stood at 3.17 days for the Basque Country as a whole. The average length of stay in this type of establishment was 4.62 days in Álava, 3.83 days in Bizkaia and 2.35 days in Gipuzkoa.
The bed occupancy rate at the Basque Country level reached 50.0%, up 4.2 percentage points on that observed in July 2022. In contrast, the apartment occupancy rate increased by 4.4 percentage points to stand at 67.1%.
In respect of tourist hostels in the Basque Country, in July 2023 there was a year-on-year decrease of 3.8% in visitor numbers, reaching a total of 27,422 visitors who generated 53,916 overnight stays. 26,818 overnight stays were registered in Gipuzkoa, 26,070 in Bizkaia and lastly, the number of overnight stays in Álava was 1,028.
In July 2023, the average length of stay in this type of accommodation was 1.97 days in the Basque Country as a whole and the bed occupancy rate, after a year-on-year decrease of 10.2 percentage points, stood at 50.8%.
Informative note
The response rate for the Survey on Tourist Establishments this month was 89.7% for Rural Accommodation, 82.0% for Tourist Apartments and 77.6% for Tourist Hostels. 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