Hotel occupancy rates reached 38.1 per cent in November, a drop of 1.6 percentage points when compared with November 2008, the NSO said today.

The total number of arrivals in collective accommodation establishments was 68,608, of which 82.2 per cent were non-resident arrivals. Total nights spent were recorded at 408,240, a drop of 5.9 per cent over the corresponding month in 2008.

There was a drop of 33.3 per cent in the number of nights spent in 3-star hotels.

The overall net supply of bed-places in Malta was 34,351 beds, a decrease of 2.1 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2008.

The average length of stay stood at 6.1 nights. Nights spent by non-residents in Malta accounted for 94.3 per cent of total guest-nights in Malta.

The net supply of bed-places in Gozo and Comino stood at 1,366 beds, accounting for 3.8 per cent of the national bed-stock. The net use of bed-places in November was 24.7 per cent while the average length of stay stood at 2.9 nights.