Occupancy dropped three percentage points compared to 2017 (81%).
Navarra, Extremadura and La Rioja lead the national rankings.
The Basque Country, Madrid and the Valencian region saw the biggest drop in numbers.
According to data collected by HomeAway’s search engine, Toprural (http://www.toprural.com), rural accommodation occupancy was at 78% this Easter, three percentage points less than the same period last year.
Navarre holds the top spot
The information collected by Top Rural using the rural accommodation availability calendars found that the Chartered Community of Navarre led the rankings once again with 96% occupancy. Extremadura was next with 90%, La Rioja and Cantabria (both at 87%) and the Basque Country at 86%.
The Autonomous Communities with the lowest occupancy from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday were Madrid (59%), Murcia (63%) and Galicia (65%).
National Occupancy Ranking by Autonomous Communities for Easter Week 2018
| Position | Region | Occupancy 2018 | Occupancy 2017 |
| 1 | Navarre | 96% | 98% |
| 2 | Extremadura | 90% | 91% |
| 3 | La Rioja | 87% | 87% |
| 4 | Cantabria | 87% | 90% |
| 5 | Basque Country | 86% | 96% |
Occupancy Map Easter Week 2018
6 provinces with 90% or more occupancy
According to Top Rural, six provinces achieved or exceeded 90% occupancy this Easter. Álava and Burgos (90% each), Zamora (92%), Soria (94%, Cáceres (95%) and top of the list with 96% was Navarre.
Regions with an increase in occupancy
An analysis of the data by Autonomous Communities shows three regions with the highest year-on-year growth when compared to 2017: the Canary Islands and Murcia are both up three percentage points in comparison with this time last year, Castile and León experienced growth of one percentage point. However, La Rioja saw no change with 87% occupancy, the same as in 2017. The Basque Country, Madrid and the Valencia region experienced the biggest drop in occupancy with 10, 8, and 7 percentage points less when compared to the same period in 2017.
Castile and León, Catalonia, Andalucia and Castilla–La Mancha are the most popular regions with travellers
In terms of demand and the number of travellers, the most popular destinations for rural tourism at Easter are Castile and León (43,173 placed occupied), Catalonia (30,520), Andalucia (18,862) and Castilla-La Mancha (17,956), as they have a greater number of occupied rooms in proportion to their available offer.
