Tourist arrivals in April reached 234,488, an increase of 15.7 per cent compared to the corresponding month in 2017.

The NSO said tourists from EU member states increased by 17 per cent to 206,797 when compared to the corresponding month in 2017. Most tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (35.2 per cent), followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket (34.2 per cent).

Total nights spent went up by 16.9 per cent when compared to April 2017, reaching nearly 1.5 million nights.

The largest share of guest nights (58.9 per cent) was spent in hotels.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €159.8 million, an increase of 3.9 per cent over the corresponding month in 2017.

Tourism has grown by 18.1 per cent since January. Total nights spent by =tourists went up by 17.9 per cent, reaching nearly 4.2 million nights. Tourism expenditure surpassed €431.3 million, 10.3 per cent higher than that recorded for 2017 for the same period.