Almost 1.3 million tourists visited Malta in the first 10 months of the year, a six per cent increase.

The number of nights they spent here also increased, as did their spending, up by nine per cent over the corresponding period in the record 2010, reaching €1.1 billion, according to the National Statistics Office.

The majority (86 per cent) of tourists came from EU member states, the main markets being the UK and Italy, while there was a rise of 19 per cent from outside the EU.

The government attributed the figures to the improvement of accessibility – routes have increased from 54 in 2007 to 75 this year – and effective promotion.

October also kept up the trend with a slight increase in visitors, up to 147,708, over the same month last year while total nights spent increased by 3.9 per cent to nearly 1.2 million.

Total tourist expenditure reached €127 million, a notable increase of more than €7 million when compared to last year.

A total of 126,868 inbound tourist trips were undertaken for holiday purposes, with holidaymakers registering an increase of four per cent.

First-time visitors accounted for 69 per cent of tourists, increasing by two per cent when compared to October last year.