Total arrivals and nights spent in hotes during October increased by 4.1 and 4.0 per cent respectively compared to October 2014, the NSO said today.

Arrivals numbered 158,969, while total nights spent amounted to 876,000.

All hotel categories registered increases in total nights spent, with the exception of 5 Star hotels. The largest share of guest nights was reported in 4 Star hotels, accounting for 416,694 nights, or 47.6 per cent of the total.

The average length of stay  stood at 5.5 nights, equal to October 2014. The net use of bed-places stood at 69.7 per cent, up by 2.9 percentage points when compared to the corresponding month last year.

There were 173 active hotels in Malta and Gozo during October, with a net capacity of 18,327 bedrooms and 40,570 bed-places.

January-October

Total arrivals during the first 10 months of 2015 amounted to almost 1.4 million, an increase of 2.0 per cent over the same period in 2014. Total nights spent went up by 1.5 per cent, surpassing 7.9 million. The net use of bed-places advanced by 1.7 per cent.