Sharp downturn in tourism

Tourism slumped last month after managing to hold relatively steady in the previous two months.

The number of visitors in October dropped by 9.3 per cent compared to the same month last year, according to figures from the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Visits in August rose by 1.2 per cent and in the following month fell by a marginal 2.7 per cent, as news of an impending international recession started to spread.

Still, Malta is expected to enjoy a record year overall thanks to good growth in the earlier part of the year. The government and the industry are, however, very worried over declining prospects for next year.

The NSO said yesterday that according to its ongoing survey, 125,878 tourists came over to Malta by air in October.

Moreover, the number of total nights spent on the islands fell by 12.3 per cent and the average length of stay was calculated at 8.3 nights, down by 0.3.

This complements a drop of 4.4 per cent in the occupancy rate at accommodation establishments during the same month.