National Statistics Office data released today show that in Gozo and Comino, total guests in collective accommodation establishments in March, increased by 13.0% at a total of 6,450, up from 5,723 in the same month last year. Total nights spent amounted to 20,444 which was up from 17,030 in 2015, an increase of 20.0%.
For the first three months of this year in Gozo, total guests in accommodation stood at 14,430 against 12,195 in 2015, an increase of 18.0%, with total nights spent at 40,237 up from 33,855 in 2015, an increase of 19.0%.
In Malta, total guests and nights spent in collective accommodation establishments during March 2016 increased by 9.7 and 11.6 per cent respectively compared to the corresponding month in 2015. Total guests in collective accommodation establishments numbered 124,061, while total nights spent amounted to 638,949.
All collective accommodation categories registered increases in total nights spent. The largest share of guest nights was reported in 4-star hotels, accounting for 331,147 nights, or 51.8 per cent of the total.
The average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments went up to 5.2 nights in March 2016 from 5.1 nights in the same month of 2015. The net use of bed-places stood at 56.0 per cent, up by 3.4 percentage points when compared to the corresponding month last year.
On a national level, there were 158 active collective accommodation establishments during March, with a net capacity of 16,927 bedrooms and 37,714 bed-places.
In Malta, total guests during the first three months of 2016 amounted to 293,768, an increase of 6.4 per cent over the same period in 2015. Total nights spent went up by 7.0 per cent, reaching 1.5 million. The net use of bed-places advanced by 0.5 percentage points to 47.3 per cent.
Photograph: Alain Salvary