Total guests and nights spent in hotels, guesthouses, hostels and tourist villages in March increased by 9.7 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively compared to the same month in 2015.

The National Statistics Office said total guests in such accommodation numbered 124,061, while total nights spent amounted to 638,949.

All collective accommodation categories registered increases in total nights spent with the largest share of guest nights being reported in four-star hotels, accounting for 331,147 nights, or 51.8 per cent.

The average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments went up to 5.2 nights in March from 5.1 nights in the same month last year.

The net use of bed-places stood at 56 per cent, up by 3.4 percentage points when compared to the same month last year.

On a national level, there were 158 active collective accommodation establishments in March, with a net capacity of 16,927 bedrooms and 37,714 bed-places.

Total guests in the first three months this amounted to 293,768, an increase of 6.4 per cent over the same period last year. Total nights spent went up by seven per cent, reaching 1.5 million.

The net use of bed-places advanced by 0.5 percentage points to 47.3 per cent.