Tourists arriving in Malta last month numbered 101,597, the same as in April 2007 but 3.1 percent less than in the same month last year. The drop took place even though Easter was in April this year, and in March last year.
Most tourists - 98.7 percent, came to Malta by air. An estimated 82,382 came to Malta on holiday, the majority from EU states. Another 11,534 visited the island for business purposes.
Meanwhile, total nights spent decreased by 8.3 percent when compared to April last year. Total nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 8.9 percent, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 8.1 percent. Overall, the average length of stay was calculated at seven nights, down by 0.4 nights from April 2008.
The NSO said that arrivals for the first four months were estimated at 275,636, a decline of 12.9 percent over the corresponding period in 2008.
In absolute terms, the change was mainly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits from the British, German and Spanish markets. On the other hand, increases were recorded in the Libyan, Italian and Swiss markets.
88.5 percent of visits were by tourists from EU states, the majority of them choosing non-package travel. Demand for package trips dropped by 9.5 percent.
The largest proportion of inbound passengers were aged between 45-64, followed by those in the 25-44 age bracket. These two categories made up 74.2 percent of total tourists.
During the same period, total nights spent decreased by 13.7 percent when compared to January-April last year. Nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 5.8 percent, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 16.2 percent.
The average length of stay was calculated at 7.7 nights, a decrease of 0.1 nights over the estimates for 2008.
In the period under review, total tourist expenditure is estimated at €187.7 million, down by 10.7 percent when compared to 2008. Decreases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. The survey results indicate that the per capita total expenditure is estimated at €696, an increase of 3.3 percent when compared to 2008 levels.