Hotel occupancy rises in January

Hotel occupancy rose by 1.6 percent in January when compared to the corresponding month in 2007 to stand at an average of 34.9 per cent., official figures issued today show.

The National Statistics Office said that in January 2008, total nights spent in collective accommodation establishments were recorded at 379,041, an increase of 8.0 per cent over the corresponding month in 2007. Year on year, the average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments decreased by 1.2 nights to 6.5 nights.

The overall supply of bed-places in Malta stood at 36,195 beds, implying a decrease of 1.7 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007. On an annual basis, the net use of bed-places in Malta went up by 1.4 percentage points to 35.5 per cent.

In Gozo and Comino, the overall supply of bed-places stood at 1,715 beds, an increase of 5.2 per cent over the comparable month a year earlier. The net use of bed-places in January was 17.4 per cent, an increase of 3.7 percentage points over the same month in 2007.