The figures published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) certify the great summer of Castilla y León in terms of rural tourism. The month of August closed with a total of 113,072 travelers and 342,077 overnight stays, placing the Community at the top of the country in both cases. Thus, the central summer months of July and August added a total of 205,346 travelers and 570,378 overnight stays. They represent growth of 6 and 1.7 percent respectively. compared to the previous year, and that in terms of overnight stays, the record of 2019, before the start of the pandemic, was exceeded, when visitors coming to the Community stayed 438,901 nights, or 5.8 percent less. The same was not true for the number of visitors, which on this occasion amounted to 206,587 during these months, national and foreign included.
Looking only at the month of August, Castilla y León recorded notable growth compared to the same month of the previous year in the number of travelers. They represent almost 6.6 percent more than the 106,158 visitors recorded in 2023. Overnight stays increased less, by 0.9 percent, compared to the figure recorded twelve months ago (339,094 overnight stays).
In Castile and León, the average length of stay in rural tourism accommodation was 3.03 days, below the 3.50 recorded in the whole of Spain, and throughout the month of August 3,545 establishments remained open, offering a total of 33,376 places and employing 5,348 people. The average occupancy rate per place was 32.94 percent, a percentage that increased to 40.92 percent on weekends, while the national average stood at 42.68 and 45, respectively. 17 percent.
By province, the largest increases in travelers occurred in Palencia, with 41 percent to 1,159, followed by Valladolid with 33.2 percent and 5,535, and Zamora with an increase of 15.7 percent. On the contrary, the largest drop was recorded in Segovia, with 34.7 percent and a total of 4,565; followed by Ávila, with 15.2 percent and 4,071; and Soria, with 12.8 percent and 1,155 travelers.
Regarding overnight stays, the greatest increase was recorded in Zamora, with an increase of 45.6 percent to 11,358, while the greatest decrease (38.2 percent) was recorded in Segovia, with a total of 10,139 nights recorded.
