Tourist arrivals in August increased by 12% over the same month last year, as the tourist industry maintained the double digit growth it has been enjoying this year.

The NSO said that arrivals in August reached 193,115, the majority of whom were holiday makers. As in previous months, most inbound tourists came from EU Member States - the main markets being the UK and Italy.

Tourists coming from countries outside the EU increased by 22 per cent. Package and non-package trips increased by 23 and 4 per cent respectively.

Tourists during this month spent over two million nights in Malta, the majority of which were in hotel accommodation. Guest nights in collective accommodation increased by 15 per cent, while total nights spent in private accommodation grew by 8 per cent.

The average length of stay was estimated at 10.4 nights, at par with last year's level.

Inbound tourism between January and August reached a total of 903,314, an increase of 12 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year. Increases were recorded in both repeat tourists and first-time visitors.

The average length of stay stood at 8.5 nights and remained constant when compared to last year.

On a gender basis male tourists exceeded female ones, and accounted for 51 per cent of total tourist trips. The majority of tourists fell within the 25-44 age bracket, closely followed by those in the 45-64 age group.

A significant increase was noted in the number of tourists under 24 years of age, the NSO said. Total nights spent between January and August increased by 11 per cent, reaching a total of over 7.7 million nights. Guest nights in collective accommodation advanced by 12 per cent, and nights spent in private accommodation, by 11 per cent.

During the period under review, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €777 million - 20 per cent higher than that for 2009. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories.

Total per capita expenditure stood at €860, an increase of 7 per cent over last year