A 4.5 per cent increase in guests and nights spent in collective accommodation, namely guesthouses, hostels and tourist villages, was registered in February when compared to the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said the total guests in collective accommodation establishments reached 95,351, while total nights spent amounted to 487,364.

All collective accommodation categories registered increases in total nights spent.

The largest share of guest nights was reported in 4-star hotels, accounting for 254,977 nights, or 52.3 per cent of the total.

The average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments stood at 5.1 nights, at par with February 2015. The net use of bed-places stood at 46.7 per cent, down by 2.2 percentage points when compared to the corresponding month last year.

On a national level, there were 147 active collective accommodation establishments during February, with a net capacity of 16,925 bedrooms and 37,453 bed-places.

Total guests in January and February amounted to 168,756, an increase of three per cent over the same period in 2015. Total nights spent went up by 2.8 per cent, reaching 898,039. The net use of bed-places declined by 0.9 percentage points to 42.6 per cent.