December saw a steep increase in tourist arrivals, reinforcing 2012's position as a record year.
The National Statistics Office said arrivals increased by 14.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2011.
Excluding the 2,322 passengers who stayed overnight on board a berthed cruise ship, the increase amounted to 11.8 per cent.
The total number of inbound visitors during December was 63,695. Excluding the
passengers who stayed overnight on their ship, the number of visitors was 61,373.
First-time visitors made up the absolute majority of tourists, and increased by 13 per cent over 2011. As in previous months, most inbound tourists came from EU Member States, while tourists from Non-EU countries rose by 19 per cent.
Malta’s main tourism markets continued to be the UK and Italy, but there was a significant increase in the German market.
Total nights spent in Malta by tourists went up by 30 per cent, reaching 638,824 nights. In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments. However in percentage terms, a substantial increase was noted in the number of tourists residing in private
accommodation.
The average length of stay stood at 10.4 nights, up by 1.4 nights when compared to December 2011.
Tourist spending was estimated at €54.8 million, a growth of 36 per cent over the corresponding month a year earlier. Expenditure on package travel went up by 45 per cent, while non-package expenditure advanced by 32 per cent.
January-December 2012
Inbound visitors in 2012 surpassed the 1.45 million mark, an increase of 2 per cent over 2011 and an all-time high.
Most tourists were holiday makers from the euro area. However, an increase of 5 per cent was registered in the number of tourists from Non-EU countries.
Non-package travel was higher than package travel, with an estimated 53 per cent of departing tourists. Nonetheless, those opting for package travel edged up by 2 per cent when compared with 2011.
Total nights spent by departing tourists last year went up by 8 per cent, exceeding 12.6 million. The majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments, where an increase of 4 per cent was reported. The average length of stay stood at 8.7 nights, up by 0.4 of a night over 2011.
During the period under review, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €1.3 billion, up 9% from 2011. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure
categories. Total per capita expenditure stood at €931, an increase of 7 per cent over the previous year.