Tourism up six per cent

Tourism grew six per cent in the first five months over the same period last year, according to National Statistics Office surveys.

The number of tourists from January to May was estimated at 384,380.

The growth was mainly due to an increase in holiday visits from the Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy and Britain.

There were declines, however, from the French, Dutch, Austrian and Belgian markets. The NSO said the total number of nights spent fell by 1.9 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at Lm130.6 million, an increase of five per cent.

Tourism in May alone is estimated to have increased by 6.1 per cent, although the total number of nights spent was down by 4.5 per cent.