The tourism sector in Malta last year performed “somewhat better” than the global industry, Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella said in Parliament.
Through planning, hard work and implementation, tourism in Malta grew by almost 10 per cent and contributed in no mean way to the economy, he said.
Speaking during the debate in second reading of the Budget Measures Implementation Bill on Tuesday, Mr Vella said global tourism expenditure amounted to €1.87 billion and, despite the crisis, the sector had remained resilient and reached new highs.
Growth in Asia and Africa stood at some six per cent whereas in Europe it hit the five per cent mark.
Eastern and central Europe had seen higher growth, about seven per cent, whereas southern Europe and the Mediterranean had an average growth of six per cent.
North African countries had suffered considerably due to the instability in the region but some began to recuperate last year.
In Malta, overall growth stood at 5.6 per cent in 2011, two per cent in 2012 but then jumped to 10 per cent last year. Only Turkey’s figures could be compared to Malta’s and one had to bear in mind that Turkey was a far more accessible country with limitless marketing budgets and less visa restrains.
The target of 1.5 million arrivals was surpassed and nearly 1.6 million tourists visited Malta in 2013.
There was an increase in short stays, which could be due to efforts to boost the conference industry, Mr Vella said. The number of repeat visitors had also increased.
Expenditure by tourists hit a record €1.44 billion, an increase of 8.6 per cent on the previous year.
Russian tourists were the most extravagant, spending almost €1,500 on each visit, followed by those from the USA, Switzerland and Libya. The minimum spend was about €600.
In terms of global expenditure, the British placed first, spending €386 million, more than 2.5 times the expenditure by the Italians, who ranked second.
It was positive that the number of tourists who visited Malta last October was greater than in August 2012. Furthermore, 2013 was a record year for passenger movements.
In a span of five months, more than 400,000 tourists a month visited the island with October, November and December also registering substantial increases.
By October 2013, the number of passengers coming to Malta had already superseded the total of the previous year.
The greatest increase was at both ends of the age spectrum: those up to 24 years of age and those over 65 years.
There was an increase in tourists from all countries apart from Spain.
Whereas one per cent of all British holidaymakers visited Malta, this amounted to just 0.25 per cent in the case of Germany. The government would, in fact, this year be targeting German and Russian tourists.
Mr Vella said it was positive that the number of individual travellers had increased and now represented 52 per cent of the total, making the country less reliant on tour operators.
There was an increase in tourists from all countries apart from Spain
As with all Mediterranean countries, last year saw a decline in the cruise liner business. This was due to cruise liner owners shortening routes for cost-cutting purposes.
It was, however, positive that Aida, MSC and Mein Schiff would be operating cruises to Malta this year.
One had to keep in mind that the income from cruise liner passengers was substantially less than that from other tourists.
While an average tourist spent about €1,000 in Malta during a stay, a cruise liner passenger would spend about €60 per visit.
In fact, the increase in income of €115 million from tourism last year compensated for a €4.5 million drop from the cruise business.
Last year, home porting cruises starting and ending in Malta saw more than 2,000 passengers every week throughout the summer months flying to the island to board cruise liners with some even staying over for a couple of nights.
In 2013, the number of airline routes increased to 83 and airline seats were up by 10 per cent. Passenger movements grew by 10.5 per cent.
The government was also tackling the issue of visas and had set up an inter-ministerial body to shorten the processing period.
It was positive that no airline registered growth at the expense of another. Air Malta had in fact registered an increase of more than six per cent in the number of passengers.
New airlines such as Wizz Air, Monarch and Turkish Airlines had started operating from Malta last year with British Airways, Transavia, Fly Niki and Brussels Airlines joining this year.
MIA was forecasting an increase of 2.5 per cent in passenger movements this year.
Although the increase in tourism was indeed very positive, there was always room for improvement. It would be a challenge this year to match last year’s success in this sector.
The government would be working to increase the number of airline routes, seats and improve the service, Mr Vella concluded.