Poul Larsen is 79 and has been to Malta 75 times in 31 years since his first trip in 1979 – lots of numbers but not enough to put off the former maths teacher.

And there are more figures: it is only Mr Larsen’s third trip in Christmas, and his first in 40 years without his wife, who passed away in August.

In 1995, he visited the island five times, he says, consulting a file of papers that log his trips. But, he clarifies, it did not mean he has not travelled anywhere else. The fact remains that he prefers Malta – the climate is good and he is always treated well.

Even though he claims to do “nothing” while here and is spending most of his two-week holiday in his hotel, unable to move around much, his legs being “no good anymore”, the Dane feels it is still worth coming over and even plans to increase his number of visits to 76.

In 75 trips, Mr Larsen has seen much of the island and can, therefore, afford to sit back, watch television... and read The Times.

He can no longer mount buses and taxis are too expensive, so the only time he left Mellieħa was to go to a bookshop in Rabat to sort out in person a subscription – literature being another interest.

Nevertheless, he still feels the urge to embark on the journey to Malta – even though he has to be wheeled around the airports to make it.

Mr Larsen also keeps a form of logbook, where he meticulously copies the temperatures of the previous day from the newspaper, and jots down the hours of sunshine and humidity levels.

“My memory is not good anymore, so like this, when people ask me about the weather, I can refer to my diary,” he says about why he keeps it.

The climate is a fundamental reason for his visits to Malta. At the moment, temperatures in Denmark are “freezing”; between -5°C and -15°C. “I prefer 32°C!”

Even though he is so concerned about the weather, it does not affect his dress code. Mr Larsen, a tall man, is always in a three-piece suit and a bowtie, come rain, or shine.

Even when he travels to Malta in summer, he is still wearing his suit. But it is a matter of being practical, due to its many pockets, and not smart. “Even if you are not wearing anything, you would still feel hot, and anyway, the clothes absorb the sweat,” he explains.

Mr Larsen’s first trip to Malta was quite by chance and is a curious story. His wife wanted to go to Rhodes but he was scared to fly at the time, so he caught a train to Syracuse.

Once there, he attempted to call his wife, as promised, but he could not get through. He, therefore, got a boat to Malta and headed for a hotel in Valletta, where he proceeded to try and contact his wife. It took him 20 minutes and he stayed on for four days.

Over the years, Mr Larsen moved to the Mellieħa Holiday Centre, where his wife used to stay because she felt secure about the doctors on call. It is his first time back without her and he is feeling slightly lonely.

Despite his many trips, Mr Larsen has no Maltese friends – just acquaintances, he specifies. He has no children and the holiday centre is a sort of family to him, he acknowledges.

“They feed me,” he says, adding that he does not know how to cook and is served meals on wheels in Denmark.

But he is also being pampered by the staff, as has always been the case on his trips to Malta and is one reason why he is a repeat – if not record – visitor.