Tourist arrivals down 6.8 per cent

Tourist arrivals last month dropped by 6.8 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the National Statistics Office.

A total of 130,296 tourists visited Malta in September, spending a total of 1,138,763 nights. The majority - 112,007 - were here on holiday and 10,357 were in Malta on business.

First-time visitors decreased by 10.8 per cent and the number of repeat tourists remained comparatively stable when compared to the same month in 2008. The vast majority of tourists - 89.1 per cent - came from the EU and statistics show air travel is by far the most popular way of reaching the island, with 99.2 per cent of incoming tourists opting for this form of transport.

In the first nine months of the year, 936,342 tourists visited Malta, 10.4 per cent less than in the same period in 2008. This change is mostly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits, primarily from the British, German and Scandinavian markets.

There was a surge in tourists from neighbouring countries, with an increase in Italian and Libyan visitors.

While Malta witnessed a drop of 6.8 per cent, countries such as Cyprus and Spain suffered even more, experiencing drops of 9.6 and 9.5 per cent respectively.

The majority of inbound tourists seem to be eschewing package travel, with such trips decreasing by 13.5 per cent.

The largest group of inbound tourists were those in the 25 to 44 age group, followed by those in the 45 to 64 age bracket.

The overall majority of tourists visited Malta for a period of at least seven nights.

Total nights spent during September dropped by 10.3 per cent when compared to the same period last year, with an average stay of 8.6 nights, at par with 2008.

A total of €744.2 million were spent by tourists visiting Malta this year, a drop of 12.9 per cent when compared to last year. Tourists spent €812 per capita, down by 2.4 per cent when compared to last year.