The number of tourists who visited Malta in August dropped by 3.5 percent to 172,395 when compared to the corresponding month last year, according to NSO figures issued today. Arrivals in July had dropped by 9.2%.
The National Statistics Office said total nights spent decreased by 5.5 percent in August.
The majority, or 97.3 percent of tourists who came to Malta in August came to Malta by air, an estimated 148,674 tourists on holiday, the majority from EU states. An additional 7,198 visited the island for business purposes.
Meanwhile, total nights spent in private accommodation increased by 4.4 percent, while guest nights in collective accommodation registered a drop of 11.1 percent.
Overall, the average length of stay was calculated at 10.4 nights, down by 0.2 nights when compared to 2008 levels.
Inbound tourists between January and August were estimated at 806,046, a decrease of 11 percent over the corresponding period in 2008.
In absolute terms, the change was mostly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits, mainly from the British, German and Scandinavian markets.
On the other hand increases were recorded in the Italian and Libyan markets.
Eighty nine percent of all inbound visits comprised tourists coming from EU states. The majority of inbound tourists chose non-package travel, while the demand for package trips decreased by 13.6 percent.
The largest proportion of inbound passengers were between 25 and 44 followed by those in the 45-64 age bracket. These two categories made up 72.2 per cent of total tourists.
Total nights during the reference period decreased by 10.6 percent when compared to 2008 levels.
Nights spent in private accommodation decreased by two percent, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 14 percent. The average length of stay was calculated at 8.6 nights, at par with 2008 estimate.
In the period under review, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €639.3 million, a decline of 12.7 percent when compared to 2008.
Decreases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. The survey results indicated that per capita total expenditure was estimated at €811, down by 1.1 percent in comparison with 2008.