Arrivals in hotels and other collective accommodation establishments reached 126,612 in April, up by 4.8 per cent over last year, the NSO said this morning.

Total bed nights increased by 8.3 per cent to 681,708.

The largest share of guest nights was spent in 4-star hotels, amounting to
324,156 nights, or 47.6 per cent of the total. Increases of 30.3 and 4.2 per cent in total nights were registered in 3-star and 4-star hotels respectively, when compared to 2012 levels.

On the other hand, total nights in 5-star hotels fell by 2.2 per cent.

Overall, the average length of stay in collective accommodation stood at 5.4 nights, up by 0.2 of a night over April 2012. The net use of bed places during April stood at 58.2 per cent.

At 65.9 per cent, 4-star hotels had the highest occupancy level when compared to the levels reached by the other establishments. The largest increase in occupancy rates - 9.7 percentage points - was registered among 3-star hotels, while 5-star and 4-star hotels recorded drops of 1.4 and 3.2 percentage points respectively when compared to April 2012.

Regional Breakdown

Total arrivals in Malta amounted to 121,098 – 5.7 per cent more than the figure for 2012.

Total nights stood at 664,344, while the average length of stay reached 5.5 nights. During April 2013, the average occupancy rate increased by 0.8 percentage points when compared to last year, to 59.0 per cent.

Total arrivals and nights spent in Gozo and Comino numbered 5,513 and 17,365
respectively. Both figures were down when compared to last year.