Tourism up slightly in July

Tourist departures last month were estimated at 149,491, an increase of 1.2 per cent over the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

The rise primarily reflects more arrivals from Germany, Spain and Russia, while tourists from the UK, the US and France registered dips.

Results also show that 81.5 per cent of inbound visitors came on holiday.

The total number of nights spent went up by 5.2 per cent. Overall, the average length of stay is calculated at 10 nights, up by 0.3 nights.

Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco welcomed the latest tourism figures which, he said, were a result of a collective effort.

He expressed the wish that a similar effort would be made over the next few months so that the industry will be able to cope with the many challenges it is facing.

Inbound tourists for the first seven months of the year are estimated at 726,804, an increase of 11.9 per cent.

Although there was an increase in repeat tourism, data show that the overall rise was mainly brought about due to a rise in first-time visits, with the latter estimated to account for 69.5 per cent of total visits.

The total number of nights spent grew by seven per cent, with the five- and four-star hotel categories improving by 8.3 and 2.3 per cent respectively, while the three-star sector recorded a drop of 7.9 per cent.

The average length of stay is calculated at 8.2 nights, down by 0.4 nights.

Total tourist expenditure for the first seven months was estimated at €551.8 million, an increase of 1.8 per cent over the same period last year.

The per capita total expenditure was estimated at €768, down by 10.2 per cent .