The number of tourists coming to Malta increased by 4.6 per cent in November when compared to the same month last year.

Tourstat data published by the National Statistics Office showed that excluding the 2,163 passengers who stayed overnight on board their berthed cruise ship, the increase amounted to two per cent.

The total number of tourists who visited Malta in November was estimated at 87,654.

Estimates show that the absolute majority  - 68,236, visited Malta for holiday purposes. Another 11,801 trips were undertaken for business purposes.

First-time visitors rose by four per cent over 2011. Inbound tourism from EU states increased by three per cent, and represented 85 per cent of departing tourists. Meanwhile, tourists from outside the EU decreased slightly, to 12,963.

Malta’s main tourism markets continue to be the UK, Germany and Italy, albeit a significant increase in the French market was noted.

Total nights spent by departing tourists during November went up by three per cent to 685,520. Total expenditure of was estimated at €70.8 million, a growth of eight per cent over last year. Expenditure on package travel went up by eight per cent, while non-package expenditure advanced by 13 per cent.

January-November 2012

The total number of tourists who visited Malta during this period is estimated at 1,384,763.

Of these, 1,382,600 were departing tourists, an increase of 2 per cent over the comparable period in 2011.