Tourist arrivals up 7% since January

Tourist arrivals grew by 2.1 per cent in September compared to the same month last year, reversing a drop in arrivals in August, figures issued by the NSO today show. Arrivals since the beginning of the year have exceeded 1 million, showing a growth of 7 per cent over last year.

154,529 tourists came to Malta last month. First-time visitors remained at par with last year, while an increase in repeat tourists was recorded. 86 per cent of inbound tourists came from EU Member States, while tourists from Non-EU countries registered a drop of 9 per cent, and accounted for 14 per cent of the total for the month. The main inbound tourism markets continued to be the UK and Italy, jointly accounting for a 46 per cent share of the total. Notable increases were registered in the French and German markets.

Tourists spent over 1.3 million nights in Malta, most of which were spent
in hotels. The average length of stay remained unchanged when compared to the previous year.

Total tourism expenditure advanced by 8 per cent when compared to 2010 levels and stood at €148 million. Increases were noted in almost all expenditure categories, while the largest was noted in package expenditure, which increased by 20 per cent.

January-September 2011

Inbound tourists during this period totalled over 1 million, an increase of 7 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year. Overall, this was mostly attributed to a growth in holiday visits, mainly from the Belgian, French and Swiss markets. The UK and Italian markets continued to be the main origins for inbound trips. A significant decrease was recorded in the Libyan market, due to the unrest in the country.

The majority of inbound tourists opted for non-package travel; however an increase in package trips was registered. Increases were recorded both in the number of repeat tourists and in the bumber of first-time visitors, albeit the latter still constituted the majority.

Total nights spent between January and September went up by 4 per cent, reaching a total of 9.4 million nights. Guest nights in collective accommodation went up by 3 per cent, while nights spent in private accommodation rose by 5 per cent. The average length of stay stood at 8.3, a decrease of 0.2 of a night over 2010 estimates.

Total expenditure was estimated at €997.8 million, a rise of 9 per cent over 2010.