A total of 37,204 outbound trips were made in September, 5.6 per cent more than in the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said.
It said that it was estimated that the Maltese spent a total of 1,748,036 nights abroad between January and September.
The number of tourist trips to EU countries was calculated at 34,326, up by 15 per cent when compared to last year. A further 2,878 trips headed towards non-EU destinations.
The most popular destination among Maltese tourists remained Italy (41 per cent), followed by the UK (22 per cent). Almost all EU markets recorded upward movements, with the exception of the French market which remained practically unchanged.
The largest increase was recorded in the Italian market.