Tourist destination with a prestigious brand
A city with a turning point and projection reflected in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Bilbao is the gateway to the Bay of Biscay’s scenery and a wealth of Basque culture. A city with a turning point and projection reflected in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which down through the years has succeeded in maintaining a culture and distinguishing features that make it unique and
singular.
The Bilbao brand is also a worldwide example of urban regeneration. It has now left behind a past linked to a declining steel industry to become an international symbol as a cosmopolitan designer city. A change made possible by the commitment of local institutions to a number of major emblematic projects, including mobility and transport infrastructure.
Biscay
1,615,918
visitors in 2019 (up by 3.9% against 2018)
3,194,427
overnight stays in 2019 (increase of 2.6% compared to 2018)
Basque Country
3,800,000
visitors in 2019 (increase of 3,2% compared to 2018)
7,978,593
overnight stays in 2019 (up by 3,8% against 2018)
Numbers of visitors for leisure and business purposes have risen steadily in recent years
41 %
Visitors, foreign market
59 %
Visitors, state market
1.98
Average length of stay
| Visitors Biscay | Overnight stays Biscay | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | total state | total foreign | total state | total foreign |
| 2014 | 720,635 | 420,197 | 1,372,787 | 816,139 |
| 2015 | 784,840 | 464,371 | 1,483,307 | 887,216 |
| 2016 | 842,140 | 499,580 | 1,604,000 | 970,955 |
| 2017 | 851,184 | 563,276 | 1,593,099 | 1,100,795 |
| 2018 | 865,589 | 597,752 | 1,664,326 | 1,193,484 |
| Var. (%) | +29.6 % | +78.6 % | +40.7 % | +84.8 % |
Main foreign source markets 2018 (%)
Source: ETR Survey by Eustat. In-house. 2018