Tourism expenditure in the Basque Country has increased by 31.1% over the last five years and stands at 6.8% of GDP

Tourism spending in the Basque Country has grown by 31.1% between 2019 and 2024, bringing it to 6.8% of GDP, according to data from the progress of the Tourism Satellite Account.

In particular,tourist expenditure  has reached 6,665 million euros in 2024 in the Basque Country, 526 million more than the previous year, representing an 8.6% increase over 2023 and 31.1% more than in 2019, the year prior to the covid-19 pandemic. According to Eustat, this increase in expenditure is lower than in the previous three years, "the recovery after the health crisis".

Statistics show that tourism has strengthened its "role in the Basque economy" and contributed 6.8% of GDP at market prices in 2024, from 6.6% in the previous year to 6.3% in 2019.

The two aggregates that make up the tourist expenditure increase in 2024. Specifically, the receiving tourism (which includes the tourist expenditure of people from abroad and the rest of the State in the Basque Country) has grown by 7%, representing 60.6% of the total, representing 4.1% of GDP.

On the other hand, the so-called 'Other components of tourism' (expenditure of the Basque population within the Community, expenditure of public administrations on tourism programmes and investment in the characteristic branches of tourism) show an increase of 11.1%, representing 39.4% of total tourist expenditure and 2.7% of Basque GDP.

According to the Eustat study, in the past year, both emitting tourism and receiving tourism have maintained the trendof growth in constant spending that has been observed since 2021, but there is a "certain moderation" in the rate of growth compared to previous years, when these exercises have experienced "very strong growth as a result of the recovery of normal activity" following the crisis resulting from the covid pandemic.

The tourism issuer, which refers to the expenditure of the Basque population outside the Community, has reached EUR 6.308 billion and shows a 'slightly more dynamic' behaviour than that of the tourist recipient, with an increase of EUR 431 million in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 7.3%.

On the other hand, the recipient of tourism, which covers the expenditure of foreign visitors and the rest of the State, stands at EUR 4,041 million, with an increase of EUR 263 million over 2023 (+7%).

As a result of the evolution of both components, the balance of tourism in the Basque Country represents a "higher deficit of eta", from €2,099 million in 2023 to €2,267 million in 2024.

By territory, Gipuzkoa and Álava recorded higher growth in tourism expenditure than the Community average last year, with increases of 9.3 per cent and 9.2 per cent, respectively, while in Bizkaia the increase was 7.6 per cent, in all cases lower than in previous years but higher than before the pandemic.

On the other hand, Bizkaia accounts for 43.4% of tourism expenditure in the Basque Country, which is four tenths less than in 2023; Gipuzkoa accounts for 42.7% of the total, three tenths more than the previous year; Álava for 13.9%, one tenth more than in 2023.