Tourist arrivals in hotels and other collective accommodation last March amounted to 84,801, up by 13 per cent when compared to the corresponding month last year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said that total guest nights increased by 5.4 per cent.

The overall net occupancy rate in collective accommodation establishments stood at 42.5 per cent. Non-resident occupancy was 39.6 per cent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points. The resident occupancy rate stood at 2.9 per cent, up by 0.4 percentage points.

Overall, total nights spent were recorded at 461,145.

A significant increase was recorded in the number of nights spent in hotel accommodation, and a 16.3 per cent drop in nights spent in other collective accommodation.

The average length of stay stood at 5.4 nights, down by 0.4 nights when compared to March last year.

The overall net supply of bed-places in Malta stood at 33,603 beds, a decrease of 3.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding month last year.

Year-on-year figures show that the net use of bed-places in Malta stood at 43.1 per cent. The average length of stay was 5.6 nights. Nights spent by non-residents stood at 423,420 accounting for 94.3 per cent of total guest-nights in Malta.

The net supply of bed-places in Gozo and Comino stood at 1,428 beds, down by 14.1 per cent when compared to March 2009. The net use of bed-places was 27.9 per cent, up by 5.2 percentage points. At 2.7 nights, the average length of stay remained at par with last year’s.

Nights spent by non-residents amounted to 6,624 whereas those spent by residents amounted to 5,733.