A total of 124,332 tourists visited Malta during October 2009, down 2.1 percent ont he same month in 2008, the NSO said.
It reported that arrivals totalled 124,332. The total nights spent were estimated at 964,926.
A majority of 104,746 tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes while an additional 11,596 came for business purposes . A decrease equivalent to 3.0 per cent was recorded in the number of first-time visitors, while repeat tourists remained comparatively stable.
Arrivals from the United Kingdom remained practically unchanged when compared to the corresponding month last year. The Italian market performed strongly, while drops where registered from the French and German markets.
During the same period, guest nights in collective accommodation recorded a drop of 6.7 per cent, while total nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 3.1 per cent.
Overall, the average length of stay was calculated at 7.8 nights, down by 0.3 nights when compared to October 2008.
January-October 2009
The number of inbound tourists for the January-October period was at 1,060,674, down by 9.5 per cent over the corresponding period in 2008. The change was mostly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits, mainly from the British, German and Scandinavian markets.
There were increases in the Italian market. During the reference period demand for package and non-package trips decreased by 11.8 and 7.5 per cent respectively. The largest proportion of inbound passengers were between 25 and 44 years old (36.4 per cent). These were closely followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket and amounted to 36.1 per cent of the total.
Overall, the majority of tourists visiting Malta remain for a period of at least seven nights.
Total nights spent over the past 10 months decreased by 9.8 per cent when compared to the same period in 2008. The number of guest nights in collective accommodation registered a drop of 13.1 per cent, while total nights in private accommodation decreased by 1.7 per cent. The average length of stay was estimated at 8.5 nights.
In the period under review, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €836.4 million, a decrease of 12.6 per cent in comparison with 2008. Decreases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. Finally, results indicate a total per capita expenditure of €806, down by 3.0 per cent when compared to 2008. This drop was mostly attributed to a decline in per capita package expenditure, while other categories remained comparatively unchanged