Cumberland County continued its prominence in the hospitality business in 2012, leading all other counties in most categories for the year-end statistics with significant growth in occupancy, room revenue and sales numbers, according to a survey from Smith Travel Research Inc.

Cumberland County lodging establishments saw an 8.1 percent increase in room revenue over last year, according to STR's December and year-end survey of Central Pennsylvania tourism numbers. Cumberland had a room occupancy of 53.5 percent for the year, a 5.9 percent increase from 2011.

Revenue per available room was $43.32 last year, an increase of 7.1 percent from the previous year, according to STR. Room sales, a measure of bookings, increased 5.9 percent in 2012 over the previous year.

Lancaster County had the next-best numbers for 2012, with a 3.9 percent growth in its occupancy, a 4.3 percent growth in room revenue and 6.5 percent growth in revenue per available room, according to Nashville-based STR.

York County had the largest drop in occupancy last year. Its occupancy of 52.7 percent was 2.8 percent less than in 2011. Lebanon County had a 2.5 percent drop in its occupancy rate.

Cumberland County officials were expecting a good year for lodging business when they started looking at mid-year gains that hit double digits. That meant an increase in hotel room taxes that fund tourism and economic development in the county.