Q3 remains strong for tourism - MHRA Hotel Survey by Deloitte

Quarter three remained the strongest period for inbound tourism in Malta, accounting for 43% of tourist arrivals and reflecting a 6% in growth over 2018, according to the Q3 Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association survey by Deloitte

Total guest nights reached 7.3 million, 48% of which stayed in collective accommodation and 35% in private accommodation. 17% of tourist guest nights stayed with family and friends.

In quarter three, all hotel categories approached the 90% occupancy threshold. 51% of growth in arrivals was absorbed by private accommodation establishments.

NSO statistics reaffirm the shortening of tourist’s average length of stay, down by 2.5% when compared to the previous period last year.

Total tourist expenditure increased by 3.4% to reach a total spend of €871 million between July and September 2019.

On a year-to-date basis, the number of tourists staying in collective accommodation increased by 2.5%.

Notwithstanding this increase, a shorter average stay resulted in a decrease of 1.5% in total guest nights. Guest nights in private accommodation continued to grow by 10.7%.

By the end of September, 2.1 million tourists had visited Malta and spent more than €1.7 billion, an increase of 4.2% compared to the same period last year. An additional 98,7000 tourist were registered in the first nine months of the year, with UK and Italy remaining the top source markets.

The top growing markets for the period were Spain (+21.5%) and Ireland (+26.0%), whilst other source markets grew by 17.1%.

During the period between July and September 5-star hotels reported a marginal increase in occupancy and rates of 1.8% and 1.2% respectively.

Revenue per available room (REVPAR) of 5-star hotels reached €257.4 and the quarterly average GOPAR increased by €574.

4-star hotels reported similar trends to those reported by 5-star hotels, with average daily rate and occupancy increasing by 1.3% and 1.8% respectively.

Gross operating profit per available room of the 4-star category increased by 2.0% during the quarter.

The 3-star hotels participating in the survey registered positive results. The relative small sample of three star properties reported an increase of 1.6% in occupancy and a 3.1% increase in average daily rate. This resulted in an increase of 5.1% in total revenue per available room.

Costs have remained on par with last year, whilst overall profitability of participating 3star hotels increased by €379.