Hotel occupancy rates decline in September - five star hotel make gains

Hotels and other tourist accommodation establishments suffered an overall 5.7 percent drop in occupancy rates in September compared to the same month last year, according to statistics issued today.

The overall occupancy rate reached 63.7 per. Five star hotels had an occupancy rate increase to 75.7% (72.7% in Sept 2008), four star hotels had an occupancy of 76.8% (80.9%), three star hotels had an occupancy of 40.6% (56.9%) while two star hotels saw occupancy rise to 58.7% from 52.6%.

Other establishments had an occupancy rate of 52.5% (59.1%)

The total nights spent in these establishments were recorded at 733,306, a drop of 9.4 per cent over
the corresponding month in 2008. The largest drop was registered in the 3-star hotel category with a
decrease of 30.6 per cent.

The average length of stay in September stood at 6.2 nights, a decrease of 0.3 nights when compared to the corresponding month in 2008.

The overall net supply of bed-places in Malta was 36,650 beds, a decrease of 1.2 per cent when compared to September 2008.

The net use of bed-places in Malta decreased by 5.7 percentage points to 63.7 per cent over the year. The average length of stay stood at 6.4 nights. Nights spent by non-residents in Malta accounted for 96.1 per cent
of total guest-nights in Malta, with an average length of stay of 6.8 nights.

The net supply of bed-places in Gozo and Comino stood at 1,743 beds. The net use of bed-places in the month under review was 63.1 per cent, while the average length of stay stood at 4.1 nights. Nights spent
by non-residents, amounted to 73.7 per cent of total guest-nights in Gozo, with an average length of
stay of 5.4 nights