Tourist accommodation in April up 3 per cent over 2011

Total arrivals in collective accommodation during April stood at 121,042, up by 3 per cent when compared to last year.

Total guest nights edged down by 0.3 per cent to 632,813. Declines were registered in both the 5- and 4-star hotel categories, while 3-star hotels increased by 7.4 per cent.

The average length of stay was calculated at 5.2 nights, down by 0.2 of a night when compared to 2011. The 4-star and 2-star hotel categories registered declines in the number of arrivals of 1.5 and 9.3 per cent respectively, while arrivals in 5-star hotels increased by 6.9 per cent.

When compared to the previous year, the net use of bed-places went up by 1.8 percentage points to 57.5 per cent. The occupancy rate in hotels stood at 60.4 per cent, whereas that calculated for other collective accommodation establishments reached 41 per cent. Declines of 1 and 1.3 percentage points were recorded in the occupancy levels of 5- and 4-star hotels respectively, whereas occupancy rates for 3-star hotels increased by 5.8 percentage points to 44.4 per cent.

Regional Breakdown

Total arrivals in Malta amounted to 114,805 - 3.3 per cent more than last year. Total nights numbered 613,278, with an average length of stay of 5.3 nights. There was a decrease of 1.9 per cent in arrivals in 4-star hotels, which numbered 53,789 during the month under review. In contrast, all other hotel categories in Malta registered increases. The occupancy rate was calculated at 58.4 per cent, or 2 per cent higher than in 2011.

When compared to the previous year, total arrivals and nights in Gozo and Comino declined to 6,237 and 19,535 respectively. Despite these drops, the average length of stay remained unchanged at 3.1 nights. The net use of bed-places in Gozo and Comino was estimated at 38.3 per cent, 1.2 percentage points less than last year.

Capacity

On a national level, there were 149 establishments, with a net supply of 17,267 bedrooms and 36,716 bed-places. On average, each establishment had 2.1 beds per room. In Malta, the number of bed-places amounted to 35,017 (or 95.4 per cent of the total), whereas in Gozo and Comino the net number of bed-places stood at 1,699.