Tourism continues steady climb

Tourist arrivals increased by 7.2 per cent in March as the recovery in the sector continued.

Figures issued this week by the National Statistics Office showed that 76,436 tourists came to Malta in March, an increase of 7.4 per cent when compared to the same month last year.

The latest official data showed that 57,225 tourists visited Malta for a holiday, the majority of them from the EU.

First-time visitors made up 63 per cent of the tourists while repeat visitors increased by 17 per cent.

The average length of stay stood at 8.3 nights, up slightly on March 2009.

Reacting to the figures, the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco pointed out that this was the fourth consecutive month in which an increase had been seen.

He said this was a positive sign that indicated that the government's work, together with that of the Malta Tourism Authority and other stakeholders in the sector, was bearing fruit.

However, Dr de Marco said the country had to remain on its guard because European economies were not completely out of the recession and the industry was a volatile one.

The volcanic ash crisis, he said, had cost the country some 13,000 tourists in a week and it had also affected bookings for the coming weeks because of uncertainty in the market.

Just this week, European tourism ministers discussed the impact of the crisis through a video conference organised by European Commission vice-president Antonio Tajani.

During the conference Dr de Marco spoke on the need for Europe to take measures to cushion crises of the sort created by the ash cloud.

Maltese tourism organisations and authorities had worked together to reduce the inconvenience of tourists stranded in Malta and as long as they continued to work together they would be able to overcome difficulties and improve results, he said.