Tourist arrivals in July totalled 256,509, an increase of 11.7 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2016.

A total of 217,438 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 9,942 were undertaken for business purposes, the National Statistics Office said today.

Arrivals from EU states went up by 12.0 per cent to 209,445. Most inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44, followed by those up to 24 years.

Total nights spent went up by 8.9 per cent when compared to July 2016, surpassing 2.1 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (52.7 per cent) was spent in hotels. Tourist nights in private accommodation increased by 12.5 per cent when compared to July 2016.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €255.7 million, an increase of 11.4 per cent over the corresponding month in 2016.

January-July 2017

Inbound tourist trips from January to July 2017 reached 1,241,248, an increase of 17.6 per cent over the same period in 2016. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 11.0 per cent, surpassing 8.6 million nights. Total tourism expenditure reached €1.0 billion, 13.9 per cent higher than that recorded for 2016.

Total expenditure per capita stood at €813, a decrease of 3.2 per cent when compared to 2016.