Latvia recorded the third-largest perentage increase in hotel stays in the European Union last year, according to data released Feb. 25 by the Eurostat service.

Even more significant, the country recorded the highest percentage increase in its own residents staying in hotels. A total of 1 million nights were spent in hotels in Latvia by residents last year, up 21.9 percent from the 900,000 nights recorded in 2006, according to Eurostat.

In all, a total of 2.8 million nights were spent last year in Latvian hotels and similar establishments by residents and non-residents. That represented a 9 percent increase over 2006.

Only Poland, with an 11.5 percent increase, and Romania, with 9.1 percent, had higher rates of increase.

Eurostat data show a total of 1.57 billion nights were spent in hotels and other establishments across the 27 member nations of the EU. The highest number of nights spent were in Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The five countries together accounted for more than 70 percent of total.

The data are part of Eurostat’s monitoring of the tourism industry in the EU.

The number of foreign visitors to Latvia last year increased 12.7 percent over 2006, according to data compiled by the Central Statistical Bureau in Rīga. More than 5.2 million foreign visitors entered Latvia last year, compared to 4.6 million last year.