Inbound tourism records increase in August 2012

During August 2012, 174,817 tourist trips were made for holiday purposes, while a further 6,514 travelled on business.

Holidaymakers comprised the absolute majority of inbound tourists registering an increase of 3%.

Inbound tourists from EU Member States also went up by 3%, with a market share equivalent to 86% of the total. Meanwhile, tourists from outside the EU advanced by 14%, reaching 28,291.

Malta's main market for inbound tourism remained the UK, with a share equivalent to 27% of the total, followed by Italy with an 18% share. Both these markets remained practically unchanged when compared to 2011.

The French market advanced by 17%, while the German market declined by 8%. More than half the inbound tourists opted for non-package travel, which increased by 15% while package travel decreased by 7%.

Meanwhile, total nights spent during August reached almost 2.1 million, the majority of which were spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Nights spent in private accommodation rose by 22%, while guest nights in collective accommodation went up by 2%. Overall, the average length of stay stood at 10.5 nights, up by 0.5 of a night when compared to August last year.

During August 2012, total expenditure was estimated at €225.6 million - a growth of 8% over 2011. Expenditure on package travel remained practically unchanged, while expenditures incurred by non-package tourists experienced an increase of 23%.

Inbound tourists during the first eight months of 2012 were estimated at 981,286, marginally up when compared to 2011.

In absolute terms, the main origin of inbound trips continued to be the British market, while a significant increase was recorded in the Libyan, Russian, Scandinavian, Spanish and German markets.

On the other hand, the Belgian, British and Italian markets recorded a downward shift when compared to last year’s levels.

Throughout these eight months, demand for non-package trips decreased by 1%, while package trips increased by 3%.

On a gender basis, results showed that male tourists exceeded females, accounting for 52% of the total. The largest proportion of inbound tourists were aged between 45 and 64. Meanwhile a substantial increase (11%) was noted in the number of tourists aged 65 and over.

Between January and August, total nights spent rose by 6%, surpassing the 8.4 million mark. Nights spent in collective and private accommodation establishments went up by 3 and 12% respectively.

The majority of guest nights were spent in hotel accommodation. The average length of stay for this period stood at 8.6 nights, up by 0.4 of a night over 2011.

During the same period, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €909 million, up by 7% when compared to 2011. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories.

The survey indicated that the per capita total expenditure was estimated at €926, an increase of 6% when compared to last year.