Some 200,440 tourists came to Malta in July, 9.7 per cent more than in the same month last year.

The National Statistics Office said that excluding the passengers who stayed overnight on board a berthed cruise ship, the increase was of 8.5 per cent.

It said 169,984 came for a holiday and another 9,388 visitors came on business.

Arrivals from EU countries increased by 11.3 per cent, reaching 162,180. Total nights spent dropped by 0.7 per cent when compared to July 2013, reaching 1,737,304 nights.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €202.7 million, an increase of 3.2 per cent over the same month last year.

Arrivals in the first seven months this year amounted to 931,378, an increase of 8.9 per cent over the same period in 2013. Total nights spent increased by 5.1 per cent, reaching seven million nights and total tourism expenditure was estimated at €793.1 million.

This estimate is 7.1 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2013. Total per capita expenditure stood at €860, 1.4 per cent lower than last year’s levels.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis welcomed the figures. He said that the number of arrivals in July was the biggest for July in the past five years.