The number of Maltese travelling abroad rose by 3.3 per cent in the first two months of the year when compared to the same period last year.

Maltese nationals who left the island by sea or air in the first two months of the year amounted to 36,595, a slight increase compared to the figures for 2008.

Outbound passengers, mostly males aged between 25 and 44, increased by 3.3 per cent when compared to the 35,441 who left Malta in January and February last year, the National Statistics Office said.An estimated 16,840 left the island in February. The majority of outbound Maltese travellers in the first two months of the year left by air (35,631) and 85.3 per cent travelled to EU destinations. The most popular destinations were the UK, which attracted 13,178 passengers, followed by Italy, to where 8,532 people were headed.

Male outbound passengers exceeded the female ones and accounted for 61.7 per cent of the total. The NSO added that out of every 100 trips made by Maltese passengers, more than half involved passengers aged 25 to 44. In fact, 18,653 travellers fell within that age group.

Another 37.7 per cent involved passengers in the 45 to 64 age bracket and these amounted to 13,797 people.