Total arrivals and nights spent in hotels in December stood at 75,362 and 330,259 respectively, with an average length of stay of 4.4 nights, the national Statistics office said this morning.
Non-resident arrivals amounted to 58,566, almost unchanged when compared to December 2010. Non-resident nights went down by 3.5 per cent to 298,131. The average length of stay was calculated at 5.1 nights, marginally down by 0.2 of a night over the previous year. There was a drop in the number of nights spent in virtually all accommodation categories with the exception of 4-star hotels.
The overall net occupancy rate in collective accommodation stood at 28.1 per cent, down by 0.3 percentage points when compared with 2010 levels. Occupancy levels increased in the 4 and 3 star hotel categories and stood at 33.6 and 19.9 per cent respectively. The net occupancy rate by Maltese residents stood at 2.7 per cent, slightly lower than that for 2010.
Regional Breakdown
Total arrivals and nights in Malta amounted to 71,660 and 321,272 respectively. The average length of stay was 0.2 of a night lower than that calculated for 2010 and stood at 4.5 nights.
Increases in arrivals were counter balanced by drops in the number of nights, causing the average length of stay to decline.
Total arrivals in Gozo and Comino numbered 3,702, up by 6.4 per cent when compared to December 2010. Total nights in this region increased by 561 and stood at 8,987. Average length of stay remained unchanged at 2.4 nights.
During December 2011 the occupancy rate in Malta stood at 28.6 per cent, down by 0.4 percentage points. This drop was mainly caused by fewer foreign guests residing in other collective accommodation establishments. A further drop of 2.2 percentage points was registered in the occupancy rate of 5-star hotels.
In Gozo and Comino, the net use of bed-places stood at 17.0 per cent. Overall, the highest increase in occupancy rate in Gozo and Comino was registered
among the 3-star hotels, standing at 40.7 per cent. This was due to an increase in the number of Maltese tourists opting to reside in this type of hotel category when visiting Gozo.