The number of people going abroad during the summer increased by over 16 per cent, official figures issued on Monday show.

199,153 went abroad between July and September, an increase of 16.2 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2017.

Trips to EU and non-EU countries increased by 16.1 and 16.8 per cent respectively. Italy and the United Kingdom remained the most popular destinations, with a joint share of 46.5 per cent of total tourist trips.

Total nights spent by outbound tourists increased by 19.0 per cent, amounting to 1,496,471 nights. In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights (62.2 per cent) were spent in rented accommodation establishments.

Total estimated outlay by outbound tourists between July and September increased by 8.8 per cent over the same quarter of 2017, and stood at €193.2 million, equivalent to an average €970 per trip.

January-September 2018
Total outbound tourist trips between January and September 2018 numbered 483,044, an increase of 17.2 per cent over 201.

Total nights spent by outbound tourists went up by 13.9 per cent, reaching nearly 3.3 million nights. In addition, total estimated outlay stood at €414.8 million, 9.5 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2017