MANCHESTER'S hotel occupancy rates in February were the highest since records began 13 years ago, according to new data.

Information collated by STR Global for tourism agency Visit Manchester showed the city centre achieved an average of 79% last month, compared to 75% a year ago.

Across Greater Manchester the rate rose from 72% to 75%.

Visit Manchester said no single event stood out as leading the monthly increase, but there were three days when occupancy was between 93% and 96%. These were:

Saturday February 2 (93%): Plan B at the Manchester Arena, The National Badminton Championships at the National Cycling Centre, Wigan played against Southampton at the DW Stadium and the Asian Lifestyle Wedding and Fashion Exchange was held at EventCity.

Saturday February 16 (96%): The UK Holidays at Home and Bike & Triathlon Show was held at Manchester Central and Oldham played at home against Everton in the FA Cup.

Monday February 18 (94%): Manchester United played at home against Reading in the FA Cup and The Killers performed at the Manchester Arena.

Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “It’s always fantastic to see growth in hotel occupancy levels, but achieving a record like this is particularly satisfying when you consider that we now have significantly more hotel rooms than we did when we started tracking occupancy 13 years ago.
 
“This best February follows what was actually the highest January average since pre-recession 2008 – and a powerful testimony for the strength of Manchester hotel offering, tourism industry and events calendar “