Hotel revenue figures declined eight percent in 2012, figures released by the Department of Statistics yesterday showed.

The value added (the difference between the sale price and the production cost) for the hotel and restaurant industries fell 6.4 percent in 2012.

The Department of Statistics report pointed to the impact of fewer tourist numbers on 2012 revenue earned by hotels, pulling it below the 2011 level.

For the hotel industry, the decline in visitor arrivals translated into lower hotel occupancy levels and visitor expenditure. The reduced demand for tourist accommodations resulted in lower operational costs but this was not enough to offset the losses in revenue, resulting in a 10.3 percent decrease in the value added figure for hotels when taken alone.

The figure for revenue less outside purchases of materials and services, or total value added, for the restaurant industry decreased 0.6 percent as the growth in output was exceeded by the growth in operational costs, specifically the cost of food sales.

Taxi, charter and tour bus services were negatively impacted by declining visitor arrivals, experiencing a 5.7 percent reduction in value added.

Additionally, postal and courier service activity also declined 3.7 percent.