Summer provides a reprieve from the winter school routine for many, as well as the chance to take a well-deserved holiday break.

But, contrary to popular perception, the share of so-called tourism nights by Maltese residents during the summer months only accounts for 41 per cent of holiday breaks through-out the year, according to Eurostat.

Eurostat put Malta at the bottom of the table, meaning holidaying by Maltese is more evenly spread through the year

Figures released yesterday by the European statistical agency on the amount of overnight stays by EU residents in holiday accommodations during the summer put Malta at the bottom of the table. This means that holidaying by Maltese residents is more evenly spread throughout the whole year.

On the flipside, the bulk of overnight tourism stays by Italians and Greeks falls in the summer months, between June and September. More than 70 per cent of Italian and Greek holidaying takes place in the summer.

The figures show that 87 per cent of tourist nights by Maltese residents in summer were spent abroad and 13 per cent in Malta.

Malta came in third, be-hind Luxembourg and Belgium, for the most tourist nights spent abroad by its residents during the four summer months.