April gives hoteliers 5.3% increase in arrivals

Both resident and non-resident arrivals in hotel accommodation registered increases. A similar behaviour was noted with respect to guest nights. In particular, a significant increase was noted in non-resident arrivals and nights within the 3-star hotel category. Non-resident arrivals and nights in other collective accommodation registered a drop. The average length of stay for non-residents was calculated at 5.8 nights, down by 0.1 nights when compared to 2009. The average length of stay for residents stood at 2.2 nights.

The overall net occupancy rate in collective accommodation establishments stood at 50.1%, up by 2.1 percentage points when compared to last year. This was brought about by a rise in hotel accommodation (see Table 4). During the month under review, the non-resident occupancy rate stood at 47.8%, up by 1.8 percentage points when compared with 2009. Resident occupancy amounted to 2.3%, up by 0.3 percentage points.

During April, arrivals and nights in Malta increased respectively by 4.9 and 2.4%. Further increases were recorded with respect to Gozo and Comino. The occupancy rate in Malta stood at 51.3%, while in Gozo and Comino the estimate was of 27.7%. The latter suffered a drop of 3.6 percentage points when compared to last year.

The overall net supply of bed-places in Malta was 35,309 beds, a decrease of 2.7% when compared to the corresponding month last year. Bed-places in Gozo and Comino stood at 1,939 beds, up by 11.6% when compared with April 2009. Decreases were noted throughout all hotel categories in Malta, except fr Gozo and Comino.