The 12% growth in incoming tourists in October was a sign that the issue of seasonality was being addressed, Malta Tourism Authority chief executive officer Paul Bugeja said, adding that this was seen not only the latest statistics but also from first hand feedback from industry stakeholders.

The National Statistics Office reported on Friday that 245,922 tourists came to Malta in October, 209,832 of them for leisure.

Total nights spent went up by 6.2 per cent when compared to October 2016, surpassing 1.6 million nights.

The largest share of guest nights (59.5 per cent) was spent in collective accommodation establishments. Tourist nights in private accommodation increased by 11.3 per cent when compared to October 2016, and expenditure was estimated at €208.9 million, an increase of 10.2 per cent over the corresponding month in 2016.

Total expenditure per capita stood at €874, a decrease of 2.1 per cent when compared to 2016.