Collective accommodation registers a decline in August

The number of total guests in August 2016 declined by  3.9%, while nights spent in collective accommodation establishments declined by 5.6%, when compared to the same month a year earlier

Collective accommodation categories registered decreases in total nights spent, with the exception of 2-star hotels
Collective accommodation categories registered decreases in total nights spent, with the exception of 2-star hotels

In August of this year, the number of total guests in collective accommodation establishments hit 167,688, while total nights spent amounted to 1,070,959.

Collective accommodation categories registered decreases in total nights spent, with the exception of 2-star hotels. The largest share of guest nights was reported in 4-star hotels, accounting for 497,137 nights, or 46.4% of the total.

The average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments went down marginally in August 2016, reaching 6.4 nights from 6.5 nights in the same month of 2015. The net use of bed-places stood at 84%, down by 2.8 percentage points when compared to the corresponding month last year.

On a national level, there were 176 active collective accommodation establishments during August, with a net capacity of 18,195 bedrooms and 41,168 bed-places.

On a regional level, total arrivals in Malta numbered 157,101, which is a 4.2% decline over August 2015. Additionally, a decrease of 5.5% was recorded in the number of nights spent. The average length of stay edged down by 0.1 of a night to 6.5, when compared to last year, while the net occupancy rate declined from 87.1% to 84.6%.

Total arrivals and nights spent in Gozo and Comino decreased by 0.4 and 8.1% when compared to the comparative month last year, to 10,587 and 45,187 respectively.

In terms of this year, total guests during the first eight amounted to 1,073,550, a decrease of 0.1% over the same period in 2015. Total nights spent went down by 0.6%, reaching nearly 6.1 million. The net use of bed-places declined by 1.1 percentage points to 65.1%.