Press Release 21/09/2023
SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Except hotels. August 2023
Overnight stays rose by 3.1% in rural accommodation and were up 21.8% in tourist apartments in the Basque Country in August 2023
Overnight stays in tourist hostels also increased by 17.5%
Visitor numbers in rural accommodation in the Basque Country fell by 1.4% in August 2023 in respect of the same month of the previous year, whereas overnight stays rose by 3.1%, according to Eustat data. With these year-on-year variations, in August the number of visitors reached 26,931 and the number of overnight stays stood at 98,305.
Visitors, overnight stays, average length of stay and bed occupancy rates in rural tourism establishments in the Basque Country. August 2023
| | Visitors | Overnight stays | Average stay | Occupancy rates (%) |
| | | by seats | by rooms |
| | 08/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 08/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 08/2023 | 08/2022 | 08/2023 | p.p. * | 08/2023 | p.p. * |
| BASQUE COUNTRY | 26.931 | -1,4 | 98.305 | 3,1 | 3,65 | 3,49 | 65,6 | 1,9 | 70,8 | 1,7 |
| State origin | 20.066 | -3,0 | 76.978 | 0,4 | 3,84 | 3,71 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 6.865 | 3,4 | 21.327 | 14,2 | 3,11 | 2,81 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Araba/Álava | 4.192 | -3,6 | 15.698 | 20,4 | 3,74 | 3,00 | 45,0 | 6,9 | 52,3 | 6,3 |
| State origin | 3.333 | -3,2 | 12.684 | 20,9 | 3,81 | 3,05 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 859 | -5,2 | 3.014 | 18,7 | 3,51 | 2,80 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bizkaia | 8.575 | -2,2 | 31.944 | 3,9 | 3,73 | 3,51 | 70,1 | 2,3 | 73,8 | 2,2 |
| State origin | 6.355 | -5,6 | 24.175 | -0,8 | 3,80 | 3,62 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 2.220 | 8,8 | 7.769 | 22,0 | 3,50 | 3,12 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gipuzkoa | 14.164 | -0,3 | 50.663 | -1,7 | 3,58 | 3,63 | 73,0 | -0,6 | 78,1 | -1,0 |
| State origin | 10.378 | -1,2 | 40.119 | -4,0 | 3,87 | 3,98 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 3.786 | 2,5 | 10.544 | 8,0 | 2,78 | 2,64 | - | - | - | - |
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 September 21, 2023
Source: Eustat Tourist accommodating establishments survey
After rising by 3.4% in relation to August of the previous year, visitors from abroad accounted for 25.5% of the total number of visitors in Basque Country rural accommodation in August 2023. Meanwhile, as regards overnight stays, those by visitors from abroad represented 21.7% of the total, following an increase of 14.2% compared to August 2022.
By province, visitor numbers fell by 3.6% in Álava, 2.2% in Bizkaia and 0.3% in Gipuzkoa. As regards overnight stays, they were up 20.4% in Álava and 3.9% in Bizkaia, whereas in Gipuzkoa there was a year-on-year fall in overnight stays of 1.7%.
The average length of stay in this type of establishment in the Basque Country was 3.65 days during the month of August, above the 3.49 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 1.9 and 1.7 percentage points respectively, the bed occupancy rate standing at 65.6% and that of rooms at 70.8%.
In relation to tourist apartments, in August 2023 there was a total of 26,124 visitors, giving rise to 83,281 overnight stays. Comparing this data with that of the previous August, the increase reached 24.1% in the case of visitor numbers and 21.8% 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. August 2023
| | Visitors | Overnight stays | Average stay | Occupancy rates (%) |
| | | by seats | by apartaments |
| | 08/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 08/2023 | m/m-12 (%) | 08/2023 | 08/2022 | 08/2023 | p.p. * | 08/2023 | p.p. * |
| BASQUE COUNTRY | 26.124 | 24,1 | 83.281 | 21,8 | 3,19 | 3,25 | 55,7 | 4,1 | 72,2 | 6,7 |
| State origin | 15.315 | 18,0 | 50.694 | 14,9 | 3,31 | 3,40 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 10.809 | 33,8 | 32.588 | 34,3 | 3,01 | 3,00 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Araba/Álava | 2.105 | -12,3 | 10.805 | -5,7 | 5,13 | 4,77 | 32,5 | -1,9 | 69,9 | 0,3 |
| State origin | 1.657 | -13,0 | 8.856 | -9,5 | 5,34 | 5,14 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 448 | -10,0 | 1.949 | 16,9 | 4,35 | 3,35 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bizkaia | 16.093 | 19,7 | 41.949 | 19,8 | 2,61 | 2,60 | 66,6 | 4,2 | 81,2 | 4,8 |
| State origin | 9.434 | 18,5 | 24.725 | 15,2 | 2,62 | 2,70 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 6.659 | 21,5 | 17.224 | 27,1 | 2,59 | 2,47 | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gipuzkoa | 7.925 | 52,0 | 30.527 | 39,3 | 3,85 | 4,20 | 57,3 | 6,4 | 64,8 | 11,2 |
| State origin | 4.223 | 35,5 | 17.113 | 32,9 | 4,05 | 4,13 | - | - | - | - |
| Foreign origin | 3.703 | 76,6 | 13.415 | 48,4 | 3,62 | 4,31 | - | - | - | - |
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 September 21, 2023
Source: Eustat Tourist accommodating establishments survey
Visitors from abroad accounted for 41.4% of the total number of visitors and 39.1% of the total number of overnight stays in tourist apartments in the Basque Country, after registering year-on-year increases of 33.8% and 34.3% respectively during August 2023.
The average length of stay in tourist apartments was 3.19 days in August 2023, below that obtained in August 2022, which stood at 3.25 days for the Basque Country as a whole. The average length of stay in this type of establishment was 5.13 days in Álava, 3.85 days in Gipuzkoa and 2.61 days in Bizkaia.
The bed occupancy rate at the Basque Country level reached 55.7%, up 4.1 percentage points on that observed in August 2022. In contrast, the apartment occupancy rate increased by 6.7 percentage points to stand at 72.2%.
In respect of tourist hostels in the Basque Country, in August 2023 there was a year-on-year increase of 22.1% in visitor numbers, reaching a total of 33,941 visitors who generated 61,703 overnight stays. 34,419 overnight stays were registered in Bizkaia, 24,476 in Gipuzkoa and lastly, the number of overnight stays in Álava was 2,808.
In August 2023, the average length of stay in this type of accommodation was 1.82 days in the Basque Country as a whole and the bed occupancy rate, after a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percentage points, stood at 57.8%.
Informative note
The response rate for the Survey on Tourist Establishments this month was 89.2% for Rural Accommodation, 82.7% for Tourist Apartments and 77.9% 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