The number of guests in Maltese hotels, hostels and guesthouses declined marginally in April 2016, though the total nights they spent rose when compared to the same month last year. 

New figures released by the National Statistics Office reveal that while total guests declined by 0.1 per cent, total nights spent increased by 1.8 per cent when compared to April 2015. 

There were increases in total nights spent in all forms of collective accommodation, except for 3- and 5-star hotels, which registered a decrease. 4-star hotels accounted for the largest share of guest nights, with 363,790, or 49.4 per cent of the 737,157 total. 

The average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments went up to 5.2 nights in April 2016 from 5.1 nights in the same month of 2015. The net use of bed-places stood at 65.8 per cent, up by 2.4 percentage points when compared to the corresponding month last year, the NSO said.

On a national level, there were 164 active collective accommodation establishments during April, with a net capacity of 17,149 bedrooms and 37,853 bed-places. 

Collective accommodation figures do not include nights spent in alternative accommodation such as Airbnb or couch surfing. The figures also include Maltese residents who check in to local hotels, hostels or guesthouses.