Tourism grows but in a “moderate” way in Euskadi

Tourism is experiencing a sweet moment in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. The number of visitors coming to our land began to rise after the coronavirus pandemic and continues with the same trend. The latest official data is from July. In the In the first seven months of the year we have received 2.5 million travelers11.3% more than in the same period of the previous year.

This rise, however, is being “moderate”, highlights Daniel Solana, director of Basquetour. In his opinion there is still room to grow, but “not to grow for the sake of growing, in any way.” The entity that promotes tourism in Euskadi is committed to a “sustainable, with ethical and responsible values” tourism.

In this sense, one of Basquetour’s objectives is deseasonalization, according to Solana. They try to attract tourists at all times of the year, not so much in summer. This work is bearing its first fruits since, although we have had many visitors in the summer, there have been fewer than last year and the growth in tourism has been more noticeable throughout the spring months.

Another objective is the decongestion, especially from the capitals and some points on the Basque coast. The institution’s intention is for tourists to also visit the interior corners. Solana believes that “we have enough offer for this” based on “wine tourism, ecotourism, gastronomy…”.

In fact, the arrival of tourists to the valleys and towns in the interior of the territory has been more noticeable this year than in previous years. In the Tolosa tourist office, for example, this increase was especially notable between May and July in the words of its manager, Olatz Ilarregi.

Many of the visitors who come to Tolosaldea stay overnight in the valley. However, the majority come to spend the day on an excursion. Many of them, especially foreigners, They come to Tolosa attracted by the gastronomy: to eat at their grills and restaurants, visit the chocolate museum or see the fairs they organize throughout the year. But there are also those who come to know their roots, the house of their ancestors, or to make a special purchase.

Origin

Currently, the majority of the tourists we welcome in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa are from Spain. However, the number of foreigners has increased considerably in recent months, 19% from January to July. France is the main market for foreigners – 10% of tourists – and more tourists are beginning to arrive from Germany (3.7%), the United States (4.10%), the United Kingdom (3.6%) and Asian countries.

In the opinion of the director of Basquetour, foreigners’ tourism is “quality tourism”, due to the spending they make on gastronomy and shopping. For this reason, a special effort is being made to attract them and to this end, special campaigns are being carried out in Korea, China and Latin America.