Total arrivals in collective accommodation establishments in December were estimated at 74,926, up by 14.1 per cent when compared to the same month a year before, the National Statistics Office said.

It said that total nights spent increased by 6.4 per cent to 335,229.

Non-resident arrivals stood at 57,937, whereas non-resident nights amounted to 302,849. The average length of stay dropped by 0.5 of a night, but there were increases in both arrivals and non-resident nights.

Resident arrivals and nights also registered increases, and stood at 16,989 and 32,380 respectively, with an average length of stay of 1.9 nights - unchanged when compared to 2009 levels.

The four-star hotel category recorded the largest increase in both arrivals (33,467) and nights (155,617).

The overall net occupancy rate in collective accommodation establishments stood at 30.6 per cent - up by 0.7 percentage point when compared to 2009.

Non-resident and resident occupancy rates stood at 27.7 and three per cent, respectively.

Almost all hotel categories recorded increases in their occupancy rate, whereas other forms of accommodation, except guesthouses, registered slight decreases.

MALTA

Total arrivals in Malta numbered 71,448, whereas total nights reached 326,803.

The average length of stay was calculated at 4.6 nights - down by 0.3 of a night when compared to 2009, while the occupancy rate in Malta amounted to 31 per cent.

GOZO

Total arrivals and nights also increased in Gozo and Comino and stood at 3,478 and 8,426, respectively.

The average length of stay in Gozo and Comino remained unchanged when compared to the previous year, and stood at 2.4 nights, while the occupancy rate increased to 20.1 per cent.

CAPACITY

On a national level, the overall net supply of bed-places stood at 35,330, while the number of bedrooms stood at 16,603. In Malta, the number of bed-places increased by 4.3 per cent to 33,980, whereas in Gozo and Comino bed-places dropped slightly and amounted to 1,350.