Fewer Maltese travelled to Britain in July and in the first seven months of this year, and there was a considerable increase in travel to non-EU destinations during the same period, official figures issued today show.

Outbound trips from Malta during July totalled 35,396, an increase of 3.4 per cent over the comparative month in 2011, the NSO said.

86 per cent of outbound tourists travelled to EU destinations, while 14 per cent chose a destination outside the EU.

Italy and the UK continued to be the most popular destinations among Maltese tourists, with market shares of 29 and 22 per cent respectively. Almost all European markets recorded slight increases, with the exception of the British market, which decreased by 8 per cent.

Trips to non-EU destinations increased by 1,619 (46 per cent) over last year.

As in previous years, the majority of outbound tourist trips were carried out by males and stood at 19,426, or 55 per cent of the total. The largest proportion of outbound tourists fell in the 25-44 age bracket, followed by those in the 45-64 age category.

January-July 2012

Outbound tourism throughout this seven-month period stood at 171,000, an increase of 3% when compared to the previous year. Trips to the EU registered downward changes and were estimated at 147,486, whereas trips to Non-EU destinations advancedby 30 per cent to 23,514.

An estimated 86 per cent of outbound tourists chose to visit EU destinations,
with Italy and the UK prevailing as the most popular. Trips to Italy increased by 5 per cent, while those to the UK dropped by 6 per cent.

Most outbound tourists fell within the 25-44 year-old age group (41 per cent) and were followed by the 45-64 age bracket (31 per cent). These numbered 70,442 and 53,238 respectively. Male tourists stood at 99,230, or 58 per cent of the total.

Out of 192,973 outbound visitor trips, same-day visitors were estimated at 21,973.