Two and three-star establishments enjoyed a sharp rise in guest nights in July as about 152,000 tourists stayed in hotels and hostels, a rise of 3.8 per cent over the previous July.

Tourists spent more than a million nights in Malta and Gozo. Two and three-star establishments saw increases of 25 and 12 per cent respectively, as other accommodation establishments, including hostels, enjoyed a 13 per cent rise.

However, total guest nights in five-star and four-star hotels fell by 2.8 and 0.4 per cent.

Four-star hotels still had the lion’s share of guest nights, with a total of 461,356 out of the million, according to the National Statistics Office.