Occupancy of Metro hotels up

Metro Manila residents have not given up the luxury of staying a day or two in hotels despite the economic crunch.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) yesterday reported a continuing growth in the number of Filipinos opting to stay in Metro Manila hotels in the first nine months of the year.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said Metro Manila hotels recorded an average of 31 percent occupancy rate from January to September, indicating a still flourishing tourism and hotel industry in the National Capital Region.

"Based on a survey on the average occupancy rate and length of stay of guests, Metro Manila hotels recorded a 4.04 percent growth compared to last year’s records," Durano said.

Durano noted that the increase in occupancy rate was due to a growing number of seminars and conventions held in hotels as well as the growth in walk-in visitors and independent travelers.

He added that deluxe hotels recorded the highest occupancy rate of 72.62 per cent while first class hotels posted only a 69.49 percent occupancy rate for the same period.

However, Durano said, overall average length of stay of hotel guests in Metro Manila went down by 5.86 percent, from 2.73 nights last year to 2.57 nights this year.

Tourism officials said the drop in the length of stay means guests are also choosing to spend less but Durano insisted that growth in occupancy rate is a better indicator for tourism growth.