Hotel occupancy in December grew by 0.9 percent to reach 31.2 per cent, the NSO said today.

The figure contrasts with figures issued last month showing tourist arrivals increased by just over 10 per cent.

The NSO said that during December, non-residents occupancy stood at 28.2 per cent, up by 0.8 per cent, while resident occupancy was 3.0 per cent.

During December, total arrivals in collective accommodation establishments were recorded at 65,429, an increase of 4.5 per cent over December 2008. For the period under review, total nights spent in collective accommodation establishments were recorded at 315,346, a drop of 6.3 per cent over the corresponding month in 2008, with the largest drops being registered in the 3-star and 4-star hotel categories.

The average length of stay stood at 4.8 nights.

The overall net supply of bed-places in Malta was 31,239 beds, a decrease of 9.4 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2008.