Updated: Tourist arrivals slump by 10.6% in February

Tourist arrivals slumped by 10.6 percent last month when compared to the same month in 2008, the NSO said this morning.

However bednights increased by 2.9 percent. In hotels on their own, the increase was of 9.2%.

The office said total arrivals in February were 51,244. The majority, or 51,099 came to Malta by air. 78.4 percent of inbound tourists came to Malta on holiday, while a further 15.1 percent visited the island for business purposes.

Total nights spent increased by 2.9 percent over the comparative month in 2008. More specifically, total nights spent in private accommodation increased by 4.5 percent, while guest nights in collective accommodation increased by 2.5 percent.

The average length of stay was 9.4 nights, up by 1.3 nights when compared to February 2008.

Tourist arrivals for the past two months are estimated at 102,886, a decrease of 15.1 percent over the corresponding period in 2008.

The change was mostly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits from the British, German and Spanish markets, the NSO said. On the other hand an increase was recorded in the Italian market.

Tourist expenditure reached €68.5 million, a decrease of 14.6 percent when compared to the same period in 2008. However, per capita spending rose by 1.2% to €680 over January-February 2008.

In February only, spending on accommodation rose by 23.9%.

Malta's performance compares to a drop of 14 percent in Tourist arrivals in Cyprus, a drop of 14.7 percent in Egypt and 15.9 percent in Spain in February on the back of a 10.1% drop in January..