Tourism numbers to Malta in February decreased by 0.6 per cent compared to the corresponding month last year, according to official statistics released today.

Still, there was an increase in tourists registered during the first two months of the year, according to the National Statistics Office.

The news comes after 2012 marked a record year for tourism, when the number of visitors surpassed the 1.45 million mark – an increase of two per cent over 2011.

According to the NSO, more than 49,700 tourists visited Malta on holiday in February, while the number of business trips was estimated at 7,291. This meant that holidaymakers registered an increase of four per cent over 2012, but a significant drop of 33 per cent was registered in business tourists.

In a statement, the NSO said that when considering these results, the leap year effect should be taken into consideration.

Most inbound tourists (83 per cent) came from EU member states, while the UK remained Malta's main tourism market, with a share of 36 per cent trips, followed by Italy at 16 per cent.

The total number of nights spent in Malta increased by seven per cent, reaching 497,783 nights, while the average length of stay stood at 8.1 nights, up by 0.6 of a night when compared to February last year.

When taking into consideration the total number of inbound tourists during the first two months of this year, this went up by three per cent over 2012.

Total nights spent during this period were estimated at 1,090,569 - up by 12 per cent over last year, while the average length of stay increased by nine per cent over last year.

During January and February the total expenditure was estimated at €97.9 million, up by five per cent over last year.