Updated: Adds comment by Tourism Minister Mario de Marco -  Tourist arrivals grew by 6% in September compared to the same month last year, to reach 163,251, the NSO said today.

The results show a consistent record monthly increase in tourist arrivals since April, keeping Malta on course for another record year.

Total tourist nights spent in September went up by 13.9 per cent, bringing the average length of stay to 9.5 nights.

142,767 tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, the rest coming for business or other reasons. A drop was registered in the number of business visitors.

The number of first-time visitors rose by 8% over 2011.

Tourists from EU Member States went up by 5%, while tourists from outside the EU increased by 10 per cent.

The UK remained Malta's main tourism market, with a share of 30 per cent of total inbound trips, followed by Italy at 13 per cent. Major tourism markets remained practically unchanged when compared to last year, except for the French market which advanced by 19 per cent.

Total nights spent during September reached almost 1.6 million, the majority of which were spent in hotels.

The average length of stay stood at 9.5 nights, up by 0.6 of a night when
compared to September last year.

Total expenditure was estimated at €170.9 million - a rise of 16 per cent
over 2011. Expenditure on package travel advanced by 13 per cent and stood at almost €57.8 million, while non-package expenditure increased by 17 per cent, reaching €45.7 million.

January-September 2012

Inbound tourism during this period increased to 1,144,537 when compared to the previous year. In absolute terms, the main origin of inbound tourists continued to be the British market, yet a significant increase was recorded in the Libyan, Russian, and American markets.

On the other hand, the Belgian, British and Italian markets recorded a downward shift when compared to last year. Over the cumulative period, non-package travel was slightly higher than package travel, with an estimated 52 per cent of the total. Nonetheless, inbound tourists opting for package travel advanced by 3 per cent when compared to 2011. On a gender basis, results show that male tourists exceeded females, accounting for 52 per cent of the total.

The largest proportion of inbound tourists were aged between 45 and 64. Meanwhile, a substantial increase (11 per cent) was noted in the number
of tourists aged 65 and over.

Total nights spent rose by 7%, surpassing the 10.0 million mark. Nights spent in collective and private accommodation establishments went up by 4 and 14 per cent respectively.

In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights were spent in hotel accommodation. The average length of stay for this period stood at 8.8 nights, up by 0.5 of a night over 2011.

During the same period, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €1.1 billion, up by 8 per cent when compared to 2011. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. The total per capita expenditure stood at €943 - an increase of 6 per cent when compared to last year.

Commenting on these positive results, Tourism Minister Mario de Marco said: 'Towards the end of last year, we were facing a bleak outlook mainly due to the economic recession in our source markets and the increase in the price of oil which could have resulted in airlines dropping a number of routes serving Malta.

"Tour operators, Malta International Airport and hoteliers were similary facing a bleak 2012. Faced by these unfavourable conditions we took remedial action. From November last year,we intensified our efforts with tour operators and airlines to ensure that Malta remained accessible and attractive to more potential tourists. Our actions paid off. Despite the adverse economic conditions we have managed to produce a record tourism performance from April onwards.

"More tourists, more nights spent in Malta and higher tourism earnings is good news for all especially for the thousands of employees whose income depends from the industry. We cannot and will not take things for granted. Now that Summer 2012 is over, our sights are focused on the winter and next summer to ensure that this pivotal industry continues outperforming itself."

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