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Malta outperformed competing tourism destinations this year, recording a 12.5% increase in arrivals over the year, compared to Morocco, which was the closest, with an increase of 11.8 per cent.
Spain saw a growth rate of 1.3%, Portugal 6.3%, Cyprus 1.8%, Turkey 6.3% and Croatia 4.8% while arrivals in Tunisia dropped by 0.9%.
Arrivals by the end of the year are expected to reach 1.33 million, surpassing the record of 1.29 million set two years ago. 1.12 million tourists came to Malta last year.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, hailed the results at a press conference today and praised operators for their work.
He refused to be drawn into making predictions for next year, but said the focus would be on consolidation and further improving accessibility.
He said that Easyjet would be starting flights to Malta from Belfast in February, Lufthansa would add a flight from Munich in April and Air Berlin would have a flight from Basel, also in April. There would also be a new service from Nuremberg.
Malta, he said, registered growth in tourist arrivals throughout 2010 except for April because of the disruption caused by the ash cloud.
As from June, tourist figures exceeded levels recording in the same months in 2007 and 2008.
Significantly, arrivals in October - a shoulder month - were higher this year than the peak month of July 2008.
Arrivals this month are expected to be 6.1% higher than December last year.
He said that it was estimated that 13,000 tourists were lost because of the ash cloud in April and a further 1,400 because of the bad weather this month.
Tourist spending this year is expected to reach €1.1 billion, an increase of 22% or €205.1 million over 2009 and of over €60 million over 2008.
Dr de Marco said the restructuring of Air Malta was a major challenge which would be faced next year. He confirmed that the Malta Tourism Authority was not part of the Air Malta restructuring committee, saying that Air Malta was being restructured according to commercial lines.
"Air Malta is an important strategic asset for Malta's tourism. It accounts for 55% of all tourists who come to Malta. But we do not need an Air Malta just for next year, but an airline which is strong well into the future," Dr de Marco said.
Efforts, he said, were continuing to replace the air capacity lost when Air Malta dropped a number of UK routes, The new Ryanair Birmingham service was an example.
Dr de Marco said a decision would be taken early next month on how much of the 2% VAT increase on hoteliers announced in the Budget would be absorbed by the government in view of previously signed agreements,
The president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, George Micallef, told The Times (see today's issue) said hoteliers were starting 2011 without knowing how much of the increase would be borne by the government.
GROWTH IN NOVEMBER
Earlier today, the NSO said that tourist arrivals grew by 8.4 per cent in November, with visitors showing an increasing preference for short breaks.
Inbound tourists totalled 78,605. The majority were first-time visitors, although an increase in repeat tourists was also recorded.
51 per cent of tourists visiting Malta spent a minimum of seven nights but there was an increase of 47 per cent in the number of tourists spending less than four nights in Malta.
The majority of inbound tourists came from EU Member States, and in particular from the euro area. The UK and Italian markets continue to be the main origins for Maltese inbound tourism.
Total nights spent during November were estimated at 559,255, down by less than half a percentage point when compared to last year. Decreases were reported in the number of nights spent in private and in other collective accommodation.
On the other hand, nights spent in hotel accommodation increased by 6 per cent.
The average length of stay of these tourists was estimated at 7.1 nights, down by 0.6 of a night when compared with 2009 levels.
Total expenditure during November also increased with respect to 2009 levels and stood at €56 million.
Increases were recorded in all expenditure categories, despite the net decrease in the number of nights. There was a rise in non-package expenditure.
Tourist arrivals between January and November were a record 1.3 million, up by 13 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year.
Increases were recorded in both the number of repeat tourists and in the number of first-time visitors.
The average length of stay stood at 8.4 nights, at par with last year’s levels.
On a gender basis, male tourists exceeded females, and accounted for 51 per cent of total tourist trips. The largest share of tourists fell within the 25-44 age bracket. These were closely followed by the 45-64 category. However, increases were noted at both ends of the age spectrum, namely the 0-24 and the 65+ categories.
Total nights spent between January and November advanced by 12 per cent, reaching almost 11 million. The majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation, where an increase of 12 per cent was recorded over 2009. Total nights spent in private accommodation went up by 11 per cent.
Total tourist expenditure over this period was estimated at €1.1 billion, 22 per cent higher than last year. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. Total per capita expenditure stood at €853, up by 8 per cent over 2009.