Press Release 21/10/2025

SURVEY ON TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS. Except hotels. September 2025

Overnight stays in rural accommodation in the Basque Country increased by 6.2% in September 2025, and in tourist apartments they rose by 20.4%

During the three summer months, overnight stays were up 4.0% in rural accommodation and 15.2% in tourist apartments

Visitor numbers in rural accommodation in the Basque Country rose by 11.2% in September 2025 in respect of the same month of the previous year, while overnight stays were up 6.2%, according to Eustat data. With these year-on-year variations, in September the number of visitors reached 19,651 and the number of overnight stays stood at 47,340.

Following a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to the previous September, visitors from abroad accounted for 32.4% of the total number of visitors in Basque Country rural accommodation in September 2025. Meanwhile, as regards overnight stays, those by visitors from abroad represented 32.3% of the total, after rising by 1.5% compared to September 2024.

By province, visitor numbers were up 27.0% in Álava and 18.2% in Bizkaia, while Gipuzkoa recorded a more moderate increase of 1.7%. With regard to overnight stays, they rose by 28.2% in Álava and 17.0% in Bizkaia, while in Gipuzkoa they were down 5.3% in year-on-year terms.

The average length of stay in this type of establishment in the Basque Country was 2.41 days in September 2025, below the 2.52 days average length of stay observed in the same month of the previous year(1).

The bed occupancy rate was 2.0 percentage points higher than that obtained in September 2024, standing at 35.1%. Meanwhile, the room occupancy rate saw a year-on-year increase of 1.9 percentage points, rising to 42.2% in September 2025.

In relation to tourist apartments, in September 2025 there were a total of 26,526 visitors, resulting in 79,474 overnight stays. Comparing this data with that of the previous September, the increase reached 35.0% in the case of visitor numbers and 20.4% 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(2).

Visitors from abroad accounted for 48.0% of the total number of visitors and 46.6% of the total number of overnight stays in tourist apartments in the Basque Country, after registering year-on-year increases of 56.0% and 34.3%, respectively, during September.

The average length of stay in tourist apartments was 3.00 days in September 2025, below that obtained in September 2024, which stood at 3.36 days for the Basque Country as a whole. The average length of stay in this type of establishment was 14.67 days in Álava, 4.20 days in Gipuzkoa and 2.12 days in Bizkaia.

The bed occupancy rate at the Basque Country level reached 43.8% in September 2025, up 1.9 percentage points on that observed in September 2024. Meanwhile, the apartment occupancy rate increased by 6.7 percentage points to stand at 79.6%.

With regard to tourist hostels in the Basque Country, in September 2025, there was a year-on-year increase in visitor numbers of 5.8%, with a total of 26,346 visitors generating 46,780 overnight stays, 13.3% more than a year earlier. 15,584 visitors were recorded in Bizkaia, 9,637 in Gipuzkoa and lastly, in Álava, there were 1,125 visitors in this type of accommodation.

In September 2025, the average length of stay in tourist hostels in the Basque Country stood at 1.78 days, and the bed occupancy rate reached 43.1%, following a year-on-year increase of 4.0 percentage points.

Cumulative data (January-September 2025)

For 2025 to date, rural accommodation in the Basque Country attained 144,190 visitors and 388,802 overnight stays; 5.0% and 5.3% more than those obtained for the same cumulative period of 2024. The average stay stood at 2.70 days, similar to the 2.69 days of the previous year. The bed occupancy rate reached 34.5%, compared to the 32.3% obtained in the same cumulative period of 2024. The room occupancy rate also exceeded the 37.1% obtained in 2024, standing at 39.7% for these nine months of 2025.

As regards tourist apartments, in the cumulative period until September, visitor numbers reached 220,342, resulting in 643,449 overnight stays; this was an increase in respect of the same period of 2024 of 32.6% in the case of visitor numbers and 16.8% in that of overnight stays. The average stay was 2.92 days in these nine months of 2025, compared to the 3.32 days observed in the same period of 2024. The bed occupancy rate stood at 41.2%, one tenth below the figure achieved in the same period of 2024. The apartment occupancy rate, however, reached 72.2%, 5.6 percentage points above that obtained in the equivalent period of 2024.

Referring to tourist hostels, in 2025 to date they have accumulated 212,710 visitors and 384,347 overnight stays, following increases of 3.0% in the case of visitor numbers and 2.0% in that of overnight stays, compared to the same months of 2024. The average stay was 1.81 days, slightly below the 1.82 days recorded the previous year. Lastly, the bed occupancy rate was 42.1%, 0.1 percentage points lower than that obtained during the same cumulative period of 2024.

Balance for summer 2025

During the three summer months as a whole (July, August and September 2025), overnight stays in rural accommodation in the Basque Country increased by 4.0% compared to summer of the previous year, while visitor numbers were up 2.3%.

At provincial level, overnight stays rose by 0.8% in Gipuzkoa, 2.6% in Bizkaia and 18.7% in Álava. Meanwhile, the number of visitors this summer increased by 13.9% in Álava and 4.9% in Bizkaia, while in Gipuzkoa it fell by 3.0% compared to the summer months of 2024.

The average length of stay remained at 3.21 days, slightly exceeding the 3.16 days seen in summer 2024. It is worth highlighting that the average length of stay in Gipuzkoa was 3.51 days, followed by 2.98 days in Bizkaia and 2.85 days in Álava.

Occupancy rates in this type of accommodation for the Basque Country as a whole were 52.0% in the case of beds and 58.0% in that of rooms, an improvement of 2.1 percentage points in the case of beds and an increase of 2.2 percentage points in the case of rooms.

With regard to tourist apartments in the Basque Country, the number of visitors rose to 98,494 during summer 2025, following an increase of 26.2% compared to the previous summer. Meanwhile, the number of overnight stays stood at 279,588, 15.2% more than in summer 2024.

At provincial level, of particular note was the 33.8% rise in visitor numbers and the 20.4% rise in overnight stays in Bizkaia. Gipuzkoa posted increases of 18.6% and 11.9% with respect to the same variables and, lastly, in Álava, there was a 19.0% drop in the number of visitors, which meant a 5.9% rise in overnight stays.

Visitors, overnight stays, average length of stay and bed occupancy rates in tourist apartments of the Basque Country. Summer(*). 2025

	Visitors		Overnight stays		Average stay		Occupancy rates (%)
							by seats		by rooms
	2025	2025/2024 (%)	2025	2025/2024 (%)	2025	2024	2025	p.p.	2025	p.p.
BASQUE COUNTRY	98,494	26.2	279,588	15.2	2.84	3.11	50.1	-1.2	82.2	10.8
State origin	49,403	18.2	146,993	9.1	2.98	3.22	-	-	-	-
Foreign origin	49,090	35.5	132,595	22.8	2.70	2.98	-	-	-	-
Araba/Álava	3,172	-19.0	34,010	5.9	10.72	8.20	32.9	-0.7	74.2	-8.6
State origin	2,418	-20.5	24,244	4.7	10.03	7.61	-	-	-	-
Foreign origin	754	-13.5	9,767	8.9	12.95	10.29	-	-	-	-
Bizkaia	65,574	33.8	141,531	20.4	2.16	2.40	51.6	-4.5	81.9	14.8
State origin	32,275	23.6	69,062	10.9	2.14	2.38	-	-	-	-
Foreign origin	33,300	45.4	72,470	31.1	2.18	2.41	-	-	-	-
Gipuzkoa	29,747	18.6	104,046	11.9	3.50	3.71	57.7	2.2	85.7	14.3
State origin	14,711	16.5	53,687	9.0	3.65	3.90	-	-	-	-
Foreign origin	15,036	20.8	50,358	15.2	3.35	3.51	-	-	-	-

(*)Months of July, August and September

p.p.= difference in percentage points with the equivalent period of the previous year

Date October 21, 2025

Source: Eustat Tourist accommodating establishments survey