The number of workers employed in the hotel industry in the final quarter of last year increased by 112 over the same period in 2010, despite a drop in guest occupancy levels.There were 2,581 workers employed in the hotel industry at the end of October 2011. Hotels employed 2,168 workers, 196 more than the same period in 2010, but cottage colonies and housekeeping units reduced their share of employment in the industry by 85, with just 395 workers in that segment.Another 18 workers were employed by the smallest accommodation type guest houses and micro units.Total guest occupancy figures show a decline to 44,835 as at the end of October 2011 from 47,079 at the same time the previous year, reflecting a decline in air arrivals for the quarter.The figures are reported in the Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics published by the Department of Statistics yesterday.“The largest decline in occupancy was recorded at resort hotels which hosted 1,456 fewer guests. Private homes accommodated 432 fewer visitors, reflecting a decline in arrivals for the purpose of visiting friends and family,” the report says.“The number of visitors staying at housekeeping accommodations fell 12.2 percent while occupancy at guest houses decreased by 17.5 percent. Visitors who reported staying at small hotels and cottage colonies slipped fractionally by 0.7 percent.”Air arrivals from the United Kingdom and all other countries other than the United States and Canada, fell by 730 and 408 respectively, both at 13.1 percent below 2010.Visitors from the United States dropped to 30,302, 1.6 percent below 2010 and the number of visitors from Canada decreased by 7.9 percent.Spending by air visitors in 2011 totaled $348.5 million, about eight percent higher than in 2010. The final quarter, however, saw a decline of $1.7 million to $60.8 million.“This represented a 2.7 percent decrease as a result of lower per person expenditure by both leisure and business visitors,” the Bulletin states.“Among the expenditure categories, outlays on accommodation and food fell 7.2 percent, to $45.2 million. Visitor spending on shopping, entertainment, transportation, and other tourist-related activities grew 13 percent to $15.6 million.”Cruise passengers spent $7.2 million more than the amount spent during the same period in 2010.“For the entire 2011, cruise ship passengers spent $74.1 million on local goods and services, including entertainment, souvenirs, sightseeing, sports activities and transportation. This amount was $13.1 million more than the $61.0 million spent in 2010.”But hotel industry revenues fell by 5.7 percent to $38.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, the report states.“The decrease in sales revenue for this industry primarily reflected a lower level of spending on accommodations by visitors.“Resort hotels recorded a 5.2 percent drop in sales revenue, representing a loss of $2 million during the quarter. Small hotels experienced a decline of 16.8 percent or $375,000 in gross receipts.“Sales at other tourist properties declined fractionally by 0.8 percent. In contrast, cottage colonies reported a modest gain of 0.3 percent during the fourth quarter.“Total hotel gross receipts in 2011 stood at $223.5 million, an increase of $20.5 million over total receipts earned in 2010.”