Tourist arrivals last month reached 133,771, an increase of 8.3 per cent over April last year when one excludes 598 passengers who stayed overnight on board a berthed cruise ship, the NSO said today.
It said 108,359 tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes. There was a 55 per cent increase among business tourists. First-time visitors increased by 5 per cent over 2012.
Tourism from EU Member States increased by 9 per cent, representing 88 per cent of tourists. Tourists from outside the EU decreased slightly, to 15,441.
The UK remained the main market for inbound tourism, with a share of 29 per cent. The Italian market came second with 16 per cent. Both markets registered increases of 5 and 10 per cent respectively.
The French and German markets remained practically unchanged compared to last year.
Total nights spent went up by 6 per cent, reaching 878,959. In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments. However, in percentage terms, a substantial increase was noted in the number of tourists residing in private accommodation.
The average length of stay stood at 6.6 nights, down by 0.2 when compared to
April 2012.
Total expenditure by tourists was estimated at €101.6million, up by 6 per cent over the corresponding month last year.
January-April 2013
The total number of tourists who visited Malta between January and April reached 351,272 an increase of 7 per cent over the comparable period in 2012.
The main origin of inbound tourism continued to be the British market, followed by the Italian and German markets.
Total nights spent by departing tourists went up by 10 per cent, at 2.6 million. The majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments, where an increase of 4 per cent was reported. The average length of stay stood at 7.3 nights, up by 0.2 over 2012.
During the period under review, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €265.4 million, 8 per cent higher than 2012. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories.