Press release 19/10/2023

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Hotels. September 2023

In September 2023, there were 12.7% more overnight stays at hotel establishments in the Basque Country than in 2022

Over the three summer months, visitors from abroad increased by 13.6% in respect of summer 2022 and overnight stays rose by 16.8%

In September 2023, visitor numbers at hotel establishments in the Basque Country increased by 10.9% and overnight stays were up 12.7% in year-on-year terms, according to Eustat data. The 366,217 registered visitors gave rise to a total of 733,225 overnight stays.

Foreign tourists accounted for 54.4% of visitors and 55.1% of overnight stays, following rises of 21.6% in the case of visitors and 23.9% in that of overnight stays.

In Álava, there were 48,559 visitors and 99,784 overnight stays, 12.5% and 27.6% more than in September the previous year. In Bizkaia, growth reached 12.0% in the case of visitors and 10.6% in that of overnight stays, with a total of 170,160 visitors and 327,446 overnight stays. In Gipuzkoa, 147,498 visitors were registered in September 2023 (9.1% more than in September 2022) and there were 305,995 overnight stays (10.7% more than in the same month of the previous year).

By provincial capital, visitor numbers rose by 16.7% in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 10.1% in San Sebastián and 5.8% in Bilbao. Likewise, the increase in overnight stays compared to September of the previous year reached 32.3% in Vitoria-Gasteiz and 10.9% in both San Sebastián and Bilbao.

The average length of stay in hotel establishments in the Basque Country during September 2023 was 2.0 days, higher than the 1.97 days observed in the same month of the previous year. 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.

The occupancy rate for the Basque Country as a whole in September stood at 69.0% in the case of beds and 82.9% in that of rooms. In relation to September 2022, the increases stood at 5.0 and 6.2 percentage points respectively.

The average daily rate (applied to a double room with a bathroom offered as room only accommodation), or ADR was 129.81 euros in September 2023 in the Basque Country, which was a rise of 11.3% in respect of September 2022. The ADR stood at 159.06 euros in Gipuzkoa, 114.46 euros in Bizkaia and 94.04 euros in Álava. The differences were greater by provincial capital, given that the ADR reached 199.83 euros in San Sebastián, 130.65 euros in Bilbao and, lastly, 73.36 euros in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The RevPar, or average revenue per available room, was 107.55 euros in hotel establishments in the Basque Country in September 2023, 20.3% higher than that obtained in the same month of the previous year.

Balance for summer 2023

Over the three summer months, the room occupancy rate was 84.1%, 3.2 percentage points higher than summer 2022

During the summer months of July, August and September 2023, visitors to hotel establishments in the Basque Country numbered 1,171,886, resulting in 2,434,027 overnight stays, which represented increases of 5.5% and 7.9%, respectively, compared to the same period of 2022.

Visitors from abroad increased by 13.6% in respect of Summer 2022 and overnight stays rose by 16.8%

Álava accumulated 326,893 overnight stays during these three months, which was 18.7% more than during the previous summer. In Gipuzkoa, with 1,022,484 overnight stays, the increase stood at 6.6% and in Bizkaia, with 1,084,650 overnight stays, there was a rise of 6.2%.

The average length of stay calculated for summer 2023 reached 2.08 days, slightly above the 2.03 days observed during the previous summer.

The occupancy rate in hotel establishments in the Basque Country as a whole reached 74.1% in the case of beds and 84.1% in the case of rooms, showing respective increases of 2.5 and 3.2 percentage points.

The figure obtained in summer 2023 followed the same trend in all three provinces. In terms of the bed occupancy rate, Gipuzkoa stands out with 78.3%, followed by Bizkaia with 72.2% and Álava with 69.0%. In the case of the room occupancy rate, all three provinces had an occupancy rate in excess of 80.0%: 86.6% in Gipuzkoa, 82.7% in Bizkaia and 81.8% in Álava.

As regards the capitals, San Sebastián stood out with an occupancy rate of 84.2% in the case of beds and 90.8% in that of rooms. In Bilbao, the bed occupancy rate stood at 73.8% and the room occupancy rate at 89.6%, and in Vitoria-Gasteiz these rates were 74.0% and 87.3%, respectively.

Informative note

The response rate for the ETR for Hotels in September 2023 was 90.0%. 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