Adds comments by Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco

Tourist arrivals increased by 3.6 per cent in February as the rebound in the tourism industry continues.

NSO figures issued today show that Malta welcomed 53,074 visitors in February an increase of 3.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding month last year.

During the same period, total nights spent were estimated at 424,478.

The results showed that 43,998 tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, accounting for the absolute majority of tourist arrivals. A further 6,334 were in Malta for business purposes.

The majority of inbound tourists were from EU Member States and accounted for 88 per cent of the total. The number of non-EU tourist visitors was estimated at 6,333.

First time visitors made up the majority of inbound tourists, with an estimated 62 per cent of the total. During the same period, guest nights in collective accommodation remained comparatively stable, while total nights in private accommodation registered a drop.

Overall, 84 per cent of inbound tourists chose to reside in collective accommodation, while 16 per cent made use of private accommodation.

The average length of stay stood at 8.0 nights, down by 0.7 nights when compared to February 2009.

Inbound tourists for the first two months of the year totalled 110,025, an increase of 7 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year. In absolute terms, this change was mostly attributed to an increase in holiday visits, mainly from the Italian, Spanish and British markets. The majority of inbound tourists opted for non-package travel.

The largest proportion of inbound passengers fell within the 46-64 year-old age bracket. These were followed by those in the 25-44 age bracket. Overall, the majority of tourists visiting Malta stayed for a period of at least seven nights. Total nights spent over the first two months remained comparatively stable. Guest nights in collective accommodation increased, while total nights in private accommodation decreased. The average length of stay was calculated at 7.8 nights, down by 0.6 night when compared to last year.

In the period under review, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €79.1 million, an increase of 11 per cent. Increases were recorded in the package and other expenditure categories. Per capita total expenditure was estimated at €729, up by 3 per cent when compared to 2009 levels.

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY WELCOMES RESULTS

Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco in a statement welcomed the tourism results.

“We have registered an increase in tourist arrivals for three months in a row. This is a positive sign that the tourism industry is starting to recover from last year’s international crisis. We look to this year with optimism while being cautious that European economies are still emerging from recession,” the parliamentary secretary said.

He said the positive results had been achieved thanks to close work between the government, the Malta Tourism Authority and the private operators.

He pointed out that the government and the MTA had worked to increase the number of airline routes to Malta. Just this week, four new routes were started. Furthermore, airline seat capacity was this year rising by 7.5 per cent.