Total outbound visitor trips between October and December stood at 110,182, an increase of 5.3 per cent when compared to the same period in 2013.

National Statistics Office figures show that the number of outbound tourist trips towards EU countries stood at 89,865, an increase of 8.6 per cent over the same quarter in 2013.

Italy and the UK remained the most popular destinations among the Maltese, with a share of 57.2 per cent of total tourist trips.

Total nights spent by outbound tourists went up by 20.4 per cent, reaching 842,188 nights.

In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights were spent in private accommodation establishments.

Total estimated outlay by resident tourists between October and December rose by 7.8 per cent when compared to the same period in 2013, and stood at €98.8 million, the equivalent to an average of €981 per person.

Total outbound visitor trips in 2014 numbered 436,043, an increase of 6.1 per cent over 2013.

During the period under review, there were 396,882 outbound tourist trips, an increase of 7.2 per cent over 2013, or 7.5 per cent if cruise liner passengers were excluded.

Total nights spent by outbound tourists went up by 10.9 per cent, reaching almost 3.2 million nights. In addition, total estimated outlay by resident tourists stood at €387.7 million, 4.8 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2013.