February proves bad for tourism

The number of tourists visiting Malta in February dropped by six per cent when compared to the same month in 2011.

According to a Tourstat survey, February saw a decrease of 5.8 per cent in inbound tourists and a drop of six per cent in departing visitors, partly because of the unprecedented rise in travellers seen in the previous year, during the unrest in Libya.

Holidaymakers made up the absolute majority of inbound tourists.

However, a significant increase of 26 per cent was registered in the number of business tourists.

The majority of inbound tourists came from EU member states. The number of departing tourists originating from non-EU countries dropped by 12 per cent.

The UK remained the main market for inbound tourists (36 per cent), despite a decrease of seven per cent. Reductions were also registered in the French (-37 per cent) and Italian (-25 per cent) markets.

On the other hand, the German market saw a significant upward shift of 71 per cent when compared to last year.

February was characterised by a number of decreases, including a drop in the number of nights spent and expenditure.

The number of total nights spent in Malta went down by seven per cent while the tourist expenditure estimate was two per cent lower.

Expenditure on package travel also fell by 14 per cent and stood at €12 million. Non-package expenditure increased by 26 per cent, reaching €15 million.

Although the number of inbound tourists in the first two months of the year went down by five per cent over 2011, total tourist expenditure rose by two per cent.