A total of 20,970 Maltese went abroad in October, practically the same number as in October last year, NSO figures issued today show.
As is normally the case, Italy and the UK were the preferred destinations. The 25-44 age bracket constituted the biggest umber of travellers.
Between January and October, 250,633 trips abroad were made by the Maltese, a drop of nearly 1 per cent compared to the first 10 months of 2008. Travel to the UK increased from 57,094 in the first 10 months of last year, to 66,119 this year, probably as the weaker Sterling made shopping more attractive.
Travel to all other destinations declined. The NSO figures show that between January and October this year, the umber of Maltese going to the UK increased by 9,025.
At the same time, there was a declines of 4,221 in the number of Maltese going to France, 1,426 in Maltese going to Germany and 3,017 in Maltese going to non-EU destinations.