Tourism grows, but fewer Britons coming to Malta

Tourist arrivals grew by 27 percent in March compared to March 2007, while total tourist nights increased by 21.1 percent, official figures issued today show.

Arrivals have been increasing since last year, but March had the added boost of having Easter this year.

The National Statistics Office said 90,504 tourists came to Malta in March, reflecting primarily a rise in holiday makers, mainly from the German, Italian and Spanish markets. Arrivals from the UK, by far the biggest market, dropped six percent to 31,126.

There were fewer tourists from Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

Year on year, total nights spent in both private and collective accommodation increased by 23.7 and 20.5 percent respectively. The average length of stay was eight nights, shorter by 0.4 nights when compared to March 2007.

The total number of tourists who came to Malta between January and March was 211,689, an increase of 38,127, or 22.0 percent over the corresponding period a year ago. The biggest market remained the UK, which yielded 76,000 tourists, one percent less than the 2007 quarter.

There was growth, however, in arrivals from the German, Italian and Spanish markets.

Just under 88 percent of tourists came from EU countries. Although there was an increase in repeat tourism, the overall increase was the result of first-time visits, which accounted for 65.6 percent of total visits.

The largest age bracket comprised tourists aged 45-64.

Per capita total expenditure was estimated at €684, down by 14.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in the preceding year.