Tourist arrivals in October increased by 3.2 per cent over the same month last year while nights spent went up by 6.8 per cent to nearly 1.3 million, according to  data published by the National Statistics Office.

The figures mean tourist arrivals have increased every month since April.

The NSO said that 131,549 arrivals in October were for holiday purposes, 13,017 for business.

Inbound tourism from EU states increased by one per cent. Tourists from outside the EU increased by 20 per cent to 23,419.

The UK remained the main market for inbound tourism, with a share equivalent to 36 per cent of the total - an increase of nine per cent. The German market came second with 11 per cent, in spite of a 13 per cent drop.

The French and Italian markets remained practically unchanged.

Total nights spent during October were estimated at 1.3 million. The average length of stay was 8.3 nights, up by 0.2 of a night when compared to October last year.

Total expenditure was estimated at €139.6 million, a growth of 9 per cent over last year. Expenditure on non-package travel advanced by 27 per cent, while other expenditure increased by 10 per cent. In contrast, expenses incurred by package travellers decreased by 5 per cent.

January-October 2012

Total tourist arrivals during the first 10 months reached almost 1.3 million, up by 2 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011. In absolute terms, the main origin of inbound tourism continued to be the British market, followed by the Italian and German markets.

In a statement, the Tourism Ministry welcomed the figures which it said were the result of work between the government and the several stakeholders.

Total nights spent during this period went up by 7 per cent, reaching almost 11.3 million. The average length of stay for this period stood at 8.7 nights, up by 0.4 of a night over 2011.