38 hotels close down in six years

The shrinking of the tourism industry in the past six years was characterised by the loss of 7,000 beds across the entire spectrum of hotel accommodation.
Last week in parliament, Tourism Minister Zammit Dimech said that between 2000 and 2006, 38 hotels had closed down, ranging from guesthouses to five-star hotels.
During the same period 19 new hotels opened, with 5,437 beds, including a hostel.
According to the latest statistics from the NSO, there were 9,032 full-time employees in the tourist sector until April 2006, and 8,150 part-timers in hotels and catering, the highest rate of employment in these sectors in the last five years.