Foreign language student arrivals increased by more than a quarter in 2007, The Sunday Times has learnt.
The figure surpassed the 85,000 mark last year, up by 29 per cent over the 65,000 arrivals in 2006, according to Andrew Mangion, president of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta (FELTOM). The figures for 2007 are expected to be released by the National Statistics Office later this month.
He attributed half of last year's increase to the Spanish government's scholarship drive and the rest to "continued belief in Malta".
"The 2007 figures prove how crucial the foreign language sector is to Malta's tourism industry," Mr Mangion said. "It is important to remember that, at 16 nights-plus, the average language student stay is twice that of the 'regular' tourist.
"FELTOM calculates that amounts to 15 per cent of the year's total bed nights."
Mr Mangion said foreign language student arrivals for the crucial third quarter this year were expected to be "optimistic" following positive numbers from January to June.
He defends the fact that several foreign language students are occupying beds in three- and four-star hotels, although other players in the tourism industry would prefer to see students accommodated in youth hostels or hosted by families as the industry braces itself for what many are expecting to be a record season.
"Language tourism has given a very positive yield to three- and four-star hotels and I hope the good relations with hotels continue and strengthen," Mr Mangion stressed.
"Students pay good rates and hotels are generally pleased with their room yield.
"A large number of hotels in these classes continue to work with us.
"Registered host families are on the increase, even if it is modest."
Families now benefit from deductibles and a tax threshold, so they are able to enjoy more of the income derived from hosting students.
He said students contributed to the economy in three tiers: accommodation, leisure and tuition.
Bad press about the younger students' behaviour caused people to focus on 50 per cent of the student market that descended on Malta in the six weeks between July and mid-August, Mr Mangion said. The reality was that half of language student arrivals were adult learners, some of whom were business people with significant spending power.
He said, however, that the bad press had not fallen on deaf ears and insisted FELTOM was taking steps to curb unruly behaviour and disturbance in public or rowdiness in hotels.
The Malta Tourism Authority, in collaboration with the federation, is currently formulating a students' handbook for clients featuring guidelines on what sort of behaviour local residents are most likely to perceive as offensive or annoying.
In light of the influx of Spanish students, the federation has also held discussions with the Spanish authorities. He said schools needed to empathise with local residents and FELTOM planned to meet councillors in localities like Sliema, St Julian's, Swieqi and Pembroke to map out co-operation before the summer.
Thanks to aggressive marketing and reputation, Mr Mangion said Malta was attracting foreign language students from key markets. Meanwhile, positive sales had also been registered in the Asian market, with mostly adult students arriving from Japan and South Korea.
"We are very well placed in the European market, given that our major competitors are the UK and Ireland.
"It is all thanks to the quality of the programmes we offer in Malta, competitive pricing, a wide range of activities, the safety our country enjoys, and Malta's visa regime."
Mr Mangion is optimistic the lucrative Chinese market will make a comeback after a visa scam and an incident in which six people were killed two years ago practically shut Malta's doors to Chinese foreign language students.
There are 50 licensed English language schools in Malta, of which 34 operate all year round. They employ over 2,000 teachers and staff between them.