In 2015, Maltese spent an average of €590 per trip. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Maltese people are splashing out on their holidays, spending nearly twice as much as their EU counterparts on each trip abroad.

According to figures published by Eurostat, Maltese people were the third-biggest holiday spenders in the EU in 2015, with an average of €590 per trip compared to the EU average of just €320.

The spending also stands in stark contrast to the 36.8 per cent of Maltese people who cannot afford a single one-week holiday away from home every year

Only Luxembourgers and Austrian residents spent more, with €740 and €610, respectively, while Romania and Latvia are home to the thriftiest travellers, spending just €116 per trip.

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Despite the high figure, Malta’s holiday outlay has actually decreased since 2013, when residents spent €645, or around nine per cent more, on their trips.

The spending also stands in stark contrast to the 36.8 per cent of Maltese people who cannot afford a single one-week holiday away from home every year, according to Eurostat figures released last week. The island fares worse than the EU average of 32.9 per cent (of the over-16 population) in this regard, but has registered significant progress since 2012, when more than half of the population could not afford a holiday.

The EU average has improved far more moderately – by 5.2 per cent – over the same period.

According to the National Statistics Office, a total of 115,219 Maltese residents went abroad in the first three months of this year, an increase of 11.4 per cent over the same period last year.

Trips to EU countries accounted for the bulk of that figure at 105,346, an increase of 15 per cent over the same quarter last year. Italy and the United Kingdom remained the most popular destinations, with more than half of all tourist trips between them.

August remains the busiest month for travel both to and from the island, with Malta International Airport expecting to host a peak of 26,000 travellers on its busiest day today.

A total 167 scheduled take-offs and landings will ensure the runway and terminal are both bustling with activity.