Total guests and nights spent in Gozo and Comino in October decreased by 2.3 and 4.7 per cent when compared to the comparative month of the previous year, to 8,608 and 35,805 respectively. From January to October 2016, the numbers were down slightly to 76,448, to that of 2015 when it stood at 76,748.
On a national level, total guests and nights spent in collective accommodation establishments during October 2016 advanced by 0.9 and 0.4 per cent respectively when compared to the corresponding month in 2015.
Total guests in collective accommodation establishments numbered 160,431, while total nights spent amounted to 879,690. 4-star and 2-star hotels were the only collective accommodation categories registering increases in total nights spent.
The largest share of guest nights was reported in 4-star hotels, accounting for 427,810 nights, or 48.6 per cent of the total.
The average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments stood at 5.5 nights during the month under review, at par with October 2015. The net use of bed-places stood at 70.0 per cent, up by 0.3 percentage points when compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
On a national level, there were 180 active collective accommodation establishments during October, with a net capacity of 18,187 bedrooms and 40,582 bed-places.
Total guests in Malta numbered 151,823, up by 1.1 per cent over October 2015. Additionally, an increase of 0.6 per cent was recorded in the number of nights spent. The average length of stay stood at 5.6 nights, at par with the previous year, while the net occupancy rate advanced from 70.1 per cent to 70.7 per cent.
Total guests in Malta during the first ten months of 2016 amounted to 1,392,097, an increase of 0.2 per cent over the same period in 2015. Total nights spent went down by 0.7 per cent, reaching nearly 7.9 million. The net use of bed-places declined by 0.9 percentage points to 66.4 per cent.
Photograph by Alain Salvary