Malta’s foreign arrivals up 4 percent

VALLETTA, Malta – Tourist arrivals rose by 4.2 percent in July when compared to the same month last year.

The NSO said that total inbound visitors during July were estimated at 182,699. Excluding the 800 passengers who stayed overnight on board a berthed cruise vessel, 181,899 were tourists – an increase of 4 per cent when compared to 2012 levels.

The number of tourists visiting Malta for holiday purposes rose by 5 per cent to 154,594, while those visiting Malta for business purposes decreased slightly to 6,941.

Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 3 percent and Non-EU tourists by 11 percent, reaching 36,151.

With a share of 27 per cent, the UK remained the main market for inbound tourism, while the Italian market came second at 15 percent.

More than half of total tourists opted for non-package travel.

Total nights spent during the month under review were estimated at 1.8 million, up by 5 percent when compared to 2012 levels. Overall, 65 per cent of total nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments, which also increased by 4 per cent. A substantial rise of 7 per cent in nights spent in private accommodation was also recorded. At 9.6 nights, the average length of stay remained at par with the average during the past three years.

During the reference month, total expenditure was estimated at €196.4 million – a growth of 3 percent over last year. Expenditure on package travel went down by 2 percent, while expenditures incurred by non-package tourists experienced an increase of 6 percent.

January-July 2013

The total number of tourists who visited Malta during this seven-month period was estimated at 855,149. Of these, 848,932 were departing tourists, an increase of 9 per cent over the comparable period in 2012. Most departing tourists were holidaymakers, predominantly from the European Union. However, an increase of 20 percent was registered in the number of tourists from Non-EU countries.

Non-package travel was slightly higher than package travel, with an estimated 52 per cent of departing tourists. Nonetheless, those opting for package travel edged up by 5 percent when compared to 2012. Increases were observed in both first-time and repeat tourists, equivalent to 6 and 14 per cent respectively.

Total nights spent went up by 11 per cent, reaching almost 6.7 million. The average length of stay for the period under review stood at 7.9 nights, up by 0.2 of a night over 2012.

In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments, while an increase of 20 percent was noted in the use of private accommodation.

Total expenditure of departing tourists during this period was estimated at €740.3 million, up by 9 percent over last year. Increases were recorded across all expenditure categories. Total per capita expenditure was estimated at €872 – up by 1 per ent over 2012