Ash drops Maltese travellers by a quarter

The volcanic eruption in Iceland last April resulted in a drop in the number of travellers from Malta by nearly a quarter, when compared to the previous year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said that while the number of outbound travellers reached an estimated 16,443, same day visitors numbered 2,132.

The decline in total trips brought about by the volcanic ash restrained the operations of northern European airports.

This had a negative influence on outbound tourism, dropping considerably compared to last year.

In April, outbound trips to EU destinations were estimated at 14,108, down by 27 per cent. A further 2,335 trips headed towards non-EU destinations.

Italy and the UK were the most popular outbound destinations. However, there was a sharp drop in the British market.

The majority of outbound tourists - 9,984, were males.

During the first four months of the year, outbound passengers were estimated at 73,940, down by one per cent when compared to last year.

This decline was attributed to the registered drop in outbound tourism in April.

An estimated 85 per cent of outbound tourists chose to visit EU destinations. The most visited countries were the UK and Italy.