Tuesday, 30th June 2009 - 11:21CET

Tourist arrivals drop by 17.6% in May

A total of 108,279 tourists came to Malta in May, a drop of 17.6 percent when compared to the corresponding month in 2008.

Total nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 2.0 per cent, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 22.4 per cent.

The average length of stay is calculated at 7.1 nights.

Tourist arrivals in the first five months reached 383,915, a decrease of 14.3 percent over the corresponding period last year.

The NSO said the decrease was mostly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits, mainly from the British, German and Spanish markets

Increases were recorded in the Italian, Libyan, and Swiss markets. 89.1 per cent of all inbound visits comprised tourists coming from EU Member States. The majority of inbound tourists chose non-package travel, while the demand for package trips decreased by 11.8 per cent.

The largest proportion of inbound passengers were aged between 45 and 64, followed by those in the 25-44 age bracket. Together, these two categories made up 75.0 percent of total tourists.

During the same period, total nights spent decreased by 15.0 percent when compared to January-May 2008. Nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 4.8 per cent, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 17.9 percent. The average length of stay is calculated at 7.5 nights, a decrease of 0.1 nights over the estimates for 2008. I

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €267.1 million, down by 12.8 per cent when compared to 2008. Decreases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Sunday, November 22, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

graeme mcmillan (on 30/6/09)

my wife and i got married in malta 2 years ago.we went back last year after malta went to the euro and it would not put us from going back we would be there this year if not for the recession so home grown holiday this year,but we will definitely be back next next year and we do not think it's that expensive it's like having a holiday in scotland with far better weather. also very friendly people.

James De Giorgio (on 30/6/09)

Malta's prices are far too high, restaurants, museums and services are too expensive, they kept going up regardless of the economic crisis. If I were a tourist I would naturally choose a cheaper spot.

John Matthews (on 30/6/09)

It's a great pity that Malta is not as competitive as it used to be, however, I will be back again this year but later in the season. Malta still has the great climate but more important, it still has some of the friendliest people that I have met. Unfortunately the tourists think that they are better than the locals, if they cease with that attitude and "blend in" they will be accepted and have a wonderful holiday. See you in the late summer.

D Stellini (on 30/6/09)

Mario de Marco - wake up about the problem of very expensive flights , or none at all to get to Malta. Recently I paid Eur 1100 for a return flight to Lisbon economy class, just because I booked 4 days before departure. It is sometimes prohibitively expensive to get to Malta, and Malta loses out on many large conferences because of this problem. And of course you have MIA sticking its head into the ground with its exhorbitant charges when benchmarked with small regional airports.

D Schembri (on 30/6/09)

What do you expect when flights to and from are still ridiculously expensive. One case in point, Zurich to Malta and back via Airmalta combining to fly to and from on a weekend costs more than 600 Swiss Francs (app EUR400).

I live abroad and visit Malta for obvious reasons. Had I been a foreigner with no connections whatsoever to Malta and just want a summer holiday, I definitely would skip Malta and go somewhere else.

I still cant believe how expensive it still is to come to or leave Malta. Low cost carriers are still limited to a few airports.

Neil Payne (on 30/6/09)

i feel the recession will be blamed, however, there are other factors that contribute to this down turn in tourist trade and i talk from personal experience. My father came to visit a few weeks ago and after going to 4 different travel agents in the UK and checking online for a package deal to Malta staying in Qawra at a 4 star hotel he gave up. No Travel agent could offer a package of flights, transfers,and accommodation all in one. Fortunately my father travels a lot and had no problem booking a flight separate and arranged the accommodation online at a near by hotel which also sorted the transfer from the airport. But the majority of people will want a family holiday package deal and when a travel agent offers a deal for turkey, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal,but not for Malta where do you think these people will go ? especially when these other tourist destinations are cheaper and their local governments don't hinder the local people who try to capitalise on the influx of business from overseas with ridiculous permits for outside seating in pedestrianised squares amongst other things.

stephen farrugia (on 30/6/09)

Don't blame the government, blame the immigrants that stopped coming..... :)

Tourist arrivals drop by 17.6% in May

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