The average expenditure made by tourists during their visits to Bilbao Bizkaia has increased by 62.8% compared to what it represented in 2019 to reach 833 euros -in the year before the pandemic it was 511.7 euros -, according to data collected at the Bizkaia Tourism Observatory in 2022 and presented by the Deputy for Economic Promotion, Ainara Basurko, and the Director of Territorial Competitiveness and Tourism, Cristina Múgica. Per person and day, this average cost is 171 euros and the largest proportion goes to accommodation (74.7 euros on average per person and day) and catering (52.9 euros per person and day).

The total average cost of the people who come to our destination (without taking into account the arrival transport) differ depending on their origin. Thus, this figure is slightly lower in the case of those who arrive from other parts of the State (820 euros) and higher (859.1 euros) among foreigners. By markets, among the foreigners who spend the most are those who arrive from the United Kingdom (938 euros), from France (838.7 euros) and Germany (818.9 euros) and among those who arrive from different parts of the State, Catalans (837 .7 euros) and Andalusians (836.9 euros).

This increase in spending occurs in a year in which the recovery of tourism in Bilbao Bizkaia is confirmed, with increases compared to 2019 -the year before the pandemic- both in the number of entries and in the number of overnight stays of tourists in the territory . This has been a growth of 2.7% in the case of entries (which add up to 1,658,858) and 1.6% in that of overnight stays (3,244,628). The average stay stands at 1.96 nights, which is 0.02 points less than in 2019, when it was 1.98 nights.

State tourism maintains its prevalence over foreigners and accounts for 61% of the total growth of entries, with 5.6% compared to 2019. In any case, the increase in tourists from other countries compared to that registered in 2021 (which amounts to 140.2%) confirms the rapid recovery that is taking place in the arrivals of international tourists, which are at levels very similar to those of the year before the outbreak of Covid. In fact, last year 645,402 people arrived in Bilbao Bizkaia from other countries and in 2019 656,064 did. In addition, in the months of high demand -June, July and August- more tourist entries have been registered than in the year before the pandemic.

Madrid (22.5%), Euskadi (20.5%) Catalonia (12.9%) and Andalusia (7.5%) are the majority state markets and among the 39% of tourists from other countries, those who arrive stand out from France (22.5%), Germany (20.5%), the United Kingdom (12.9%) and Italy (7.5%).

Bilbao remains the place with the highest number of tourist arrivals (67.5% of the total) and all the regions of Bizkaia have registered better arrival data than in 2021, although in most cases they have not reached the entry levels of 2019. Only Durangaldea (with an increase of 16%), Bilbao (8.69%, Portugalete (8.34% and Getxo (1.15%)) have grown compared to that year before the pandemic. ).

In the distribution of flows, in addition to Bilbao (where 88.2% of tourists have passed through), the most visited regions have been Busturialdea-Urdaibai (visiting place for 68.1% of tourists in the territory ), Left Bank (62.6%), Right Bank (60.9%) and Lea Artibai (34.6%).

Regarding the profile of the people who visit us, they are 47.2-year-olds, who mostly travel as a couple, who consider themselves to be middle class -although those who come from other countries claim to have slightly higher income levels than those who they come from the State – and that the majority choose to stay in hotels (77.1%). Almost all of these people (96.4%) had already heard of Bilbao Bizkaia prior to their visit and almost 7 out of ten had already been to the territory before. Among the people who repeat their visit, slightly more than two out of three (67.9%) is the second time they have come and another 31.2% have been between three and five times previously.

Cultural activities (96.8%), gastronomy (95.6%) and street walks (92.6%) are clearly the leading activities among tourists in Bizkaia in 2022, something common in the historical data of the Bizkaia Tourism Observatory. Among the cultural activities, visiting centers of cultural interest (93.6%) and museums (90.7%), as well as learning about Basque culture (87.3%), constituting the three main ones carried out by tourists. Going for pintxos (99%) and eating typical Basque dishes (93.9%) are the most frequently performed gastronomic activities.

A very positive assessment of the destination

The degree of satisfaction with the destination expressed by tourists (8.2 out of 10 points) and the degree of fulfillment of the expectations that have been generated about their stay here, which score 8.3 out of ten, constituting two very positive variables. These people especially value the accessibility and mobility of public transport (8.9 points), followed by routes (8.1), bars and restaurants (8) and museums or tourist centers of interest (7.9).

The prospect of returning to Bizkaia is, in general terms, high (8.16), both in the state market and abroad, although the latter shows a slightly greater willingness to return.

An optimistic sector, with growth prospects

In the current context of business recovery in tourism, the fabric of this sector maintains high growth prospects: 65.5% of these companies expect to grow, 31.5% expect to stabilize and only 3% believe that it will not grow.

In addition, slightly more than half (55.5%) have launched innovation actions in the last three years. In this sense, the most carried out actions have to do mainly with the product, marketing and commercialization. Specifically, with the online marketing of these products on the company’s own website (20.5%), the online trade of tourist products on third-party websites (20%), the development of new online products (13.9% ), the modification of the business model (13.2%) and the digitization of processes (12.4%) are the main actions linked to innovation that they have developed. In addition, almost all of the companies in the tourism sector in Bizkaia declare that they have carried out actions to reduce and save energy and water, which not only impacts the income statement of the companies, but also contributes to the environmental sustainability of the sector and the destination.

The main markets in which these companies operate are the state market (37.1%) and the Basque Country (36%), while abroad represents 27%.

The tourism business fabric also presents significant levels of collaboration (68.5%) and relationships and collaborations between companies are developed mainly through associations (63.2% of the total). This collaboration and the relationship they maintain between them has an excellent rating: 9.2 out of 10 points.

hiker profile

The Bizkaia Tourism Observatory has also been analyzing issues related to hikers since 2019 and identifies two types:

• Those who travel without the need for accommodation, because they live mostly in Araba, Bizkaia or Gipuzkoa, a group that in 2022 made up almost 9 out of ten hikers each (88.2%). These people spend an average of 7.35 hours in the territory and spend an average of 61.9 euros per person (not including transport).
• Those who do not stay in Bizkaia, but in other territories, who spend an average of 8.13 hours in our territory and spend an average of 83 euros.

The hikers mainly carry out gastronomic activities (89.9%), spend their time taking walks (86.8%) and perform cultural activities (67.2%). Among the gastronomic activities, going for pintxos stands out (98.8%) and among the cultural activities, visits to centers of cultural interest (73.9%) and museums (26.1%) stand out.

Biscayan society lives tourism with pride and in good coexistence

Regarding how the Biscayan society perceives tourism, almost all of the people surveyed by the Bizkaia Tourism Observatory (94.6%) expressed a feeling of pride for knowing and visiting Bizkaia. In addition, 89.1% consider that the behavior of visitors is good, 87.7% affirm that coexistence with visitors is excellent and the cultural exchange that tourism entails is highly valued (to which they give a grade of 8). .06 out of 10).

These good impressions about tourism mean that practically all of the people surveyed (98.2%) consider that tourism is an improvement for Bizkaia, a perception as widespread as that that tourism activity is relevant to the local economy (94.8% believe so). In this sense, the results of the Bizkaia Tourism Observatory show that the citizens of Bizkaia consider tourism as an opportunity for the local economy, companies and the creation of jobs and businesses.

In addition, the citizens of Bizkaia consider that tourist activity is entirely compatible with maintaining the Biscayan cultural identity, while attaching great importance to the need to offer high-quality tourism, in tune with the policy it develops in this matter the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.

‘New’ Bizkaia Tourism Observatory

From now on, the Bizkaia Tourism Observatory will be presented as a dynamic data query tool, functioning as an intelligence system that generates and shares knowledge to support decision-making by agents in the sector and thus facilitate progress in the new vision of the destination defined in the Bilbao Bizkaia 2030 Tourism Strategy and the achievement of its strategic objectives. In this sense, this system responds to said strategy in terms of sustainability formulated from the participation and cooperation of the different agents of the destination.

In this way, the Bizkaia Tourism Observatory is open to the public for consultation in three large sections: tourism in the Bizkaia regions, tourist flow in Bizkaia and Bizkaia tourist markets. In each of them, you can search and cross-reference data to compare variables and consult their history.

This tool is a living instrument, open to the extension of its contents, so that work is already underway for the introduction in the medium term of new analysis variables that contribute to a greater knowledge of the behavior and evolution of key variables for the sector and for the management of the destination towards the objectives of the Bilbao Bizkaia 2030 Tourism Strategy.

the entrance The average expenditure made by tourists in Bilbao Bizkaia increased by 62.8% compared to 2019 was first published on BizkaiaGaur.