RAMALLAH, May 30, 2016 (WAFA) – An estimated 80,228 guests stayed in West Bank hotels in the first quarter of 2016, marking a drop by 32% from the previous quarter and 20% lower than in the first quarter of 2015, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Monday.

It said 33% of the hotel patrons were from European Union countries and 13% were Palestinian.

The PCBS said room occupancy rate was 16.5% in the first quarter - 25% lower than in the previous quarter and 17% lower than in the first quarter of 2015.

PCBS said 113 hotels operating in the West Bank responded to the Hotel Activities as in March of 2016. These hotels had 6,766 rooms available with 14,903 beds.

Most of the hotels are located in the south of the West Bank, with 37 hotels, followed by the center of the West Bank, with 35 hotels.

The north of the West Bank came third with 21 hotels and the Jerusalem region had 20 hotels, said the PCBS.

T.R.