Outbound tourism down 14% in November 2011

Outbound tourist trips to EU countries during November amounted to 18,488, while Non-EU trips stood at 2,061. Both markets registered decreases of 4 and 55 per cent respectively.

The UK and Italy remained the two most popular tourism destinations among Maltese residents and shared between them 59 per cent of the total tourist trips.

The majority of outbound tourists were males (56 per cent), despite a sharp drop of nearly one quarter when compared with 2010. The majority of outbound trips were carried out by tourists between 25 and 44 age bracket (9,208, or 45 per cent).The 45-64 year old age group followed, with a share of 31 per cent (6,395 persons).

January-November 2011

Outbound passengers throughout this period stood at 277,251, an increase of 5 per cent over 2010. An estimated 89 per cent of outbound tourists chose to visit EU destinations, with UK and Italy ranking as the most popular destinations. The number of trips to Non-EU destinations dropped by 26 per cent when compared with 2010 and stood at 29,434.

During this eleven-month period, male tourists outnumbered females, accounting for 56 per cent of the total. Trips were mostly carried out by tourists in the 25-44 age bracket (41 per cent), followed by tourists aged between 45 and 64. There was also an increase of 13 per cent in the number of outbound trips undertaken by tourists under 25 years of age.

Out of 314,069 outbound visitors, the number of same-day visitors for the period was estimated at 36,818.